Japan will help the coastal central city improve its deep sea ports,drainage and water supply systems, as well as boost exports of Da Nangand the central region of Vietnam , Hideo Suzuki, Minister-Counsellorof the Japanese embassy in Vietnam said during a visit to the cityon June 8.

He said the location of Da Nang in thecentral region of Vietnam and at the end of the East-West EconomicCorridor – linking Myanmar , Thailand , Laos and Vietnam givesit an important role in boosting the economy in the central region.

Chairman of Da Nang City People's Committee Van Huu Chien said the cityhopes Japan will launch direct flights from Japan to Da Nang inthe future as well as improve the city's ports.

Asscheduled, groups of Japanese investors will come to study thefeasibility of sewage treatment and water supply projects next year.

The chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) Vietnam , Tsuno Motonori said JICA would have more discussionson improving the city's Tien Sa port's second phase of Lien Chieu portin coming years.

"Japanese investors will finish theirfeasibility studies on drainage and water supply systems for the city inthe middle of next year. JICA will consider enlarging the project ofthe Tien Sa port soon," Tsuno said.

"JICA also helps DaNang in cooperation with Yokohama city in building Da Nang as agreen city in the future," he added.

Da Nang has two big ports including Tien Sa and Lien Chieu.

However, Tien Sa port only allows access of 30,000 DWT (deadweighttonnage) ships, while 50,000 DWT container ships can dock at Lien Chieu.

The city currently has 54 investment projects fromJapan worth 252 million USD – the fourth biggest investment of thecity's total foreign investment capital of 3.45 billion USD.-VNA