ADB to back biogas production in Vietnam with USD 74m

Dec 13, 2012 - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday it would extend a USD-74-million (EUR 57m) loan to support the construction of over 36,000 biogas plants in Vietnam and promote the use of the technology.

The local government and state-run financial firms will add USD 10 million in project funds.

The plants will process agricultural and rural household waste into biogas and organic fertiliser. The facilities to be built include small, medium and large-scale waste-to-gas plants, with the project to wrap up near the end of 2018. It is expected to result in annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of some 150,000 tonnes, according to ADB.

As part of the initiative, parts of ADB’s funding will go for credit lines via financial intermediaries to provide financing for farmers and livestock enterprises willing to build or and upgrade biogas infrastructure. The project will also include incentives to biogas stakeholders for the development of carbon markets, aid government efforts to access markets for carbon credits and back greater private sector involvement, ADB said.

The lender cited data from a similar project it has financed in China. The statistics show that biogas plant investments cut energy costs, boost the use of organic fertilizers and result in annual household income growth of some 15%.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.766)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!