The Project “Vietnam National University Development – VNU, Hanoi" is funded by the World Bank. The Project’s Investment policy was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 739/QD-TTg dated June 2, 2020 and the State President approved the negotiation of the Funding Agreement for the Development of Vietnamese Universities in Decision No. 839/QD-CTN dated June 9, 2020.

At the meeting, the two sides listened to and discussed the Feasibility Study Report on the “Vietnam National University Development – VNU, Hanoi" Project. The discussed main tasks include: approving the Feasibility Study Report, signing the financial agreement, signing the on-lending agreement, approving the component reports, etc. The Feasibility Study Report has been appraised by the relevant ministries and sectors in accordance with the current regulations of Vietnam. Currently, VNU is setting up an Appraisal Council to finalize the Feasibility Study Report and approve the project.

The World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, Ms. Carolyn (Carrie) Turk affirmed that she would continue to promote cooperation activities between the World Bank and VNU. The World Bank will work closely with VNU to ensure that the project documents have the right level of detail and appropriate approach. She hoped that the two sides would make joint efforts to speed up the project in the coming time.

VNU sub-project is worth a total of US$ 125.18 million, of which, the World Bank’s fund is USD$ 100.87 million and the counterpart fund from the Vietnamese Government is USD$ 24.31 million. VNU will invest the funding in the construction of a complex of 18 one-to-eight-floor buildings with classrooms, offices, libraries, laboratory systems, central operating areas, sports areas and a part of basic infrastructure works such as water supply and drainage systems, wastewater treatment, internal traffic, etc.

Speaking at the meeting, VNU President Le Quan congratulated Ms. Carolyn (Carrie) Turk on her position of the World Bank Director for Vietnam and expressed his appreciation of her contributions to poverty and inequality reduction in many countries.

VNU President Le Quan said that VNU always appreciated the efficiency of the project’s implementation. It is expected that there will be from 15 to 20 thousand students out of a total of about 50,000 VNU students studying regularly, using the project's facilities to ensure the targets of training efficiency.

The “Vietnam National University Development – VNU, Hanoi" Project is implemented in parallel with the VNU Digital University Project. President Le Quan believed that this would not only help promote the university infrastructure but also contribute to synchronous and transparent digital transformation, meeting the training and research needs of VNU.

He hoped that through this project, VNU would not only invest in modern facilities and advanced equipment but also further access modern technologies and management experiences, contributing to the strengthening of institutional capacity and promoting the application of new digital technologies to ensure the alignment with VNU's strategic development goals to 2045.

Ms. Carolyn (Carrie) Turk assumed the position of World Bank Country Director for Vietnam on July 1st, 2020. Ms. Turk, a United Kingdom national, joined the World Bank in 1998. She has since held various positions, including Senior Poverty Specialist based in Vietnam, Senior Social Development Specialist and Lead Social Development Specialist in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region, and Country Manager for Rwanda. Her most recent assignment was as the World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Eritrea. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ms. Turk worked with the UK Department for International Development. She holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and has authored numerous publications on poverty and inequality, including a book based on research into gender inequality in 20 countries. Ms. Turk provides the leadership needed to further strengthen World Bank’s financing and knowledge engagements with Vietnam, including at the sub-national level, so that Vietnam can achieve the ambitious yet achievable goal of being a high-income country by 2045. Source: worldbank.org