Hanoi - Vietnam said Thursday that a possible resumption of Japanese official development aid (ODA) showed Hanoi was doing everything possible to cooperate with investigations of corruption in its foreign aid projects.

Japanese press reported Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry was considering resuming ODA to Vietnam. Japan halted all new aid in December, saying Vietnam had not cooperated in investigating a million-dollar kickback scandal involving Vietnamese officials and the Japanese consulting firm Pacific Consultants International (PCI).

Vietnamese government spokesman Le Dzung said he had received no official word that Japan would resume ODA, but called the reports "a very encouraging signal."

"If it is true" that Japan will resume ODA, Dzung said, "it fully reflects the close cooperation between the Vietnamese and Japanese sides in combating corruption relating to implementation of ODA projects in Vietnam."

Vietnam is preparing criminal charges against Huynh Ngoc Si, former deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Transportation, and is investigating several other officials. Si is accused of taking 820,000 dollars in kickbacks between 2003 and 2006 from PCI in exchange for contracts on the city's East-West Highway project, funded with Japanese aid.

Several former PCI executives have been sentenced to jail in Japan in connection with the case.

Nguyen Xuan Tien, deputy director of Vietnam's Department of Foreign Economic Relations, which deals with Japanese authorities regarding ODA, cautiously welcomed the news.

"If the information relating to Japan's resumption of ODA to Vietnam is true, I can say one thing: I will feel relieved," said Tien. "But not happy or any other feeling."

Japan is the largest single donor country to Vietnam, with over 1 billion dollars in total future ODA commitments. (dpa)