More finished public plans in the works

More finished public plans in the works

Progress has been made in the disbursement of public investment in Vietnam, with the Ministry of Finance taking the lead in working with peers and localities to reach the desired goal.

Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung last week stated that laudable achievements have been made in public investment disbursement, which will help materialise the disbursement target of 100 per cent state capital, contributing to hitting the economic growth rate goal of 8 per cent or more this year.

“By this point last year, we disbursed VND143 trillion ($5.72 billion) out of the total assigned sum of over VND630 trillion ($25.2 billion) or hitting 21.68 per cent,” Trung said at a government-led press conference last week.

“However, so far this year almost VND200 trillion ($8 billion) out of more than VND800 trillion ($32 billion) in total has been disbursed, or about 24.3 per cent. Thus, the disbursement has been higher than in the same period last year both in percentage and absolute number,” he added.

He ascribed this positive outcome to great efforts of authorised agencies at all levels and localities.

“The PM, deputy PMs, and ministers have made on-site tours at projects to help remove their difficulties. Leaders of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) have also made reports and work with government leaders to do so,” Trung said. “Thus in April and May, the disbursement progress become quicker.”

However, the MoF cannot boost disbursement alone, and it is in critical need for bigger cooperation and efforts from other ministries, sectors, central agencies, and localities to boost disbursement, the deputy minister stated.

The MoF has submitted a draft law amending seven others, including the Investment Law and the Public Investment Law, which are crucial to public investment disbursement.

“In the draft, we have decentralised, empowered, and clearly defined responsibilities and functions, and at the same time simplified procedures, especially in the stages of appraisal, approval, payment, and final settlement. After that, we are also developing guiding decrees for timely implementation when the draft law is passed by the legislature,” Trung elaborated.

“In addition, the MoF has also issued guiding documents, and together with ministries, formulated decrees to ensure implementation in reforming the government apparatus, making it easier for quickening the disbursement,” he said.

Furthermore, the MoF has also been focusing on coordinating with ministries to identify difficulties in compensation and site clearance to develop plans for early statistics and counting, material supply, prices, and other specialised regulations.

“Simultaneously, the MoF also ensures timely adjustment of planning and capital allocation to meet project needs, identifying projects with high disbursement capacity and those with no disbursement capacity to ensure the fastest disbursement,” Trung stressed.

Last week, the government issued a document conveying the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc on removing obstacles of the Ben Luc-Long Thanh expressway, worth nearly $1.2 billion, and the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau (stage 1) expressway, costing $712 million. Though construction of these projects, both in the southern region, began in 2014 and 2023, respectively, they remain delayed due to slow site clearance and shortage of materials.

DPM Phoc ordered localities home to the projects to quicken site clearance and raise capacity of material mines, requiring suppliers to increase working time to provide sufficient materials for contractors continuously. Notably, construction material prices must be closely managed to curb price increases that can badly affect progress.

Investors are required to complete construction of these two projects within 2025, with quality ensured, according to the document.

Also last week, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged for Ring Road 4 of Ho Chi Minh City to be sped up, including compensation, site clearance, and resettlement which must be completed in mid-2026, so that the $4 billion initiative can be constructed and opened to traffic by late 2028.

This venture will be considered and approved by the NA before investors can be selected within this year, and site clearance may be implemented in 2026. Component projects are expected to commence construction in Q3 of 2026.

VIR