Vietnam plans to raise about US$5.5 billion in foreign loans in 2026 as it looks to fast-track major national infrastructure projects and address longstanding challenges in the disbursement of development financing, the government said on Friday, January 16.
The borrowing drive comes as the Southeast Asian nation steps up public investment to support economic growth and ease infrastructure bottlenecks.
Last month, Vietnam began construction on 234 infrastructure projects with a combined value of 3,400 trillion dong. Of this total, around 18% will be financed by the state, while the remainder is expected to come from private sector and other sources of investment.
While the government did not provide a detailed breakdown of the planned foreign borrowing for 2026, it said the loans are expected to include official development assistance (ODA), concessional loans and other forms of external financing.
Vietnam's efforts to secure foreign funding have been hampered by slow disbursement in recent years. In 2025, the country obtained US$624 million in new ODA and concessional loans for 10 projects, a level similar to the previous year.
However, only 35.27% of the committed funds were disbursed, marking a decline from the earlier disbursement rate, Deputy Finance Minister Tran Quoc Phuong told the National Steering Committee on ODA, as quoted by Bangkok Post.
Phuong said the delays were driven by a range of issues, including land clearance and resettlement requirements, difficulties in approving projects in forested areas, lengthy bidding processes, tax-related complications and protracted loan negotiations. Problems linked to land pricing and the need to adjust loan agreements further added to the challenges, he said.
Public investment remains a central pillar of Vietnam's economic strategy, with the government setting a GDP growth target of more than 10% for 2026. To support this ambition, a new ODA strategy for the 2026–2030 period aims to attract up to US$38 billion in foreign funding, with a strong focus on large-scale infrastructure development.
In a bid to improve efficiency, Vietnam amended its public debt management law last year to streamline procedures and delegate greater authority for negotiating ODA agreements. The government hopes these changes will help overcome procedural hurdles and ensure faster deployment of foreign capital for priority projects.
