Nguyen Thien Nhan (R), Secretary of the HCM City Party Committeethe, and IFC’s CEO Philippe Houerou

At a reception for the IFC’s CEO Philippe Houerou in HCM City, Nguyen ThienNhan, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, said the southern metropoliswill further coordination with the corporation to implement projects, aiming toimprove living standards of locals.

He said amidst the rapidly increasing population and semi-permanent housesmaking up only about 60 percent of houses in the city, the housing sector willcreate big opportunities for construction contractors.

For his part, Philippe Houerou rejoiced at cooperation between the two sides,stressing that the IFC stands ready to join hands with HCM City to settledifficulties in urban development such as smart transport system building andgreen energy development.

The IFC will firstly cooperate with the city in implementing a credit ratingproject and expand projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model,he said.

IFC leaders will always accompany HCM City in smart urban development andbelieve that the city will become a model in the region and the world in thisregard, the official noted.

The IFC is willing to partner with HCM City to address issues regarding thebuilding of environmentally-friendly houses, urban transport development andthe transformation of waste into energy, he said.

IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank andmember of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focusedon the private sector in developing countries. It has operated in Vietnamsince 1992.-VNA