The 32-year project covers Da Nang City and the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

The region is home to nine million people, including half a million people from ethnic minorities, ADB said.

The ADB’s Special Fund will provide US$72 million in loans and the government of Vietnam will allocate $8 million to the project.

The project will help build and upgrade 20 hospitals, five district preventive medicine centers and a training school for nurses and paramedics.

A similar project in the north central coastal region of Vietnam is being funded by the World Bank.

Reported by Thai Thanh Van