Three infrastructure projects in Ha Noi, including the capital's airport, were named among the recipients of the sixth Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) President Award, becoming the first in Viet Nam to receive the award.

Nhat Tan Bridge, the biggest cable-stayed bridge in Viet Nam currently, is funded by ODA capital of Japan. The bridge, which opened last year, expresses the dedication of Japanese people to Viet Nam.

Terminal 2 of Noi Bai International Airport, the nearby Nhat Tan Bridge and the connecting road between the airport and the bridge, are among the nine projects, four individuals and one group worldwide that received the award this year. Other recipients are from Cambodia, India, Ethiopia, Chile, Bangladesh and Jordan. Japan helped finance all the projects.

The Vietnamese Government, including the Ministry of Transport, Project Management Unit 85 and the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam, as well as all the consultants and contractors of the three projects were honoured at an award ceremony in Ha Noi yesterday.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Chief Representative of JICA Viet Nam Office, Mori Mutsuya, highlighted the significant contributions of the three projects to social and economic development of Viet Nam in general and Ha Noi in particular, the factors that helped the projects achieve the 2015 award.

"These three projects helped to change the international gateway of Viet Nam, reduced the transport time, contributed to attract investors and tourists to come to Ha Noi," he said.

"I do believe that these projects will bring a lot of development for Ha Noi. I myself have seen the surprise of Japanese tourists when they arrive at Noi Bai International Airport's Terminal 2," he added.

The three projects of Viet Nam, which were all inaugurated in January this year, are among the nation's key projects with total investment of nearly US$2 billion.

"Before the completion of the projects, Viet Nam and Japan had worked hard together and overcome a difficult time of a global economic downturn. It was also the time when Japan faced two disasters and Viet Nam faced difficulties in investment sources," said Minister of Transport, Dinh La Thang.

Thang stressed that it was the effective support and co-operation of the Japanese government and people that the two countries gained success to finish the three projects and put them into use on schedule.

"That was a great and meaningful achievement which helped improve Ha Noi's transport system as well as make the image of Viet Nam more beautiful in foreigners' eyes," Thang said.

"The three projects have always been mentioned as a firm symbol of the friendly co-operation between Viet Nam and Japan, which will encourage the two sides to continue future projects," he added.

VNS