VN seeks solutions to speed up disbursement of ODA amid slugging progress

VN seeks solutions to speed up disbursement of ODA amid slugging progress

Statistics of the Ministry of Finance showed that as of October 14, the disbursement rate of ODA-funded public investment reached only VNĐ4.37 trillion (US$ 166 million) or18.68 per cent of the annual target assigned by the Prime Minister,  far below the 30.6 per cent achieved in the same period in 2024 and 38.1 per cent in 2023.

A ODA-funded road project in Lào Cai Province. Speeding up ODA-funded public investment must be the top priority in the remaining months of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Khánh

Việt Nam must urgently find solutions to accelerate the disbursement of public investment funded by official development assistance (ODA) if it is to achieve 8 per cent economic growth this year, Deputy Minister of Finance Trần Quốc Phương said at a conference on Wednesday.

Statistics from the Ministry of Finance show that as of October 14, the disbursement rate of ODA-funded public investment had reached only VNĐ4.37 trillion (US$166 million), or 18.68 per cent of the annual target assigned by the Prime Minister, far below the 30.6 per cent achieved in the same period in 2024 and 38.1 per cent in 2023.

Five localities have yet to make any disbursement, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tây Ninh, Đồng Nai, Hưng Yên and Lai Châu.

“The key task now is to identify the core reasons why disbursement remains sluggish even though a number of legal and procedural bottlenecks have been removed,” he said. “We need both short-term measures for the remainder of 2025 and longer-term solutions to ensure more sustainable disbursement in the years ahead.”

According to Vũ Hoàng Nam, deputy director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance, of the 108 projects and subprojects allocated ODA, 72 have started disbursing while 36 have yet to spend any funds.

Nam attributed the slow progress to incomplete project workloads eligible for disbursement, delays in revising loan agreements or capital plans, long waiting times for donor confirmations and additional administrative procedures arising from the mergers of administrative units and the transition to a two-tier government model.

Extreme weather, including storms, landslides and floods, has also disrupted construction work.

Speeding up ODA-funded public investment must be the top priority in the remaining months of this year, Phương said, adding that meeting the disbursement target is critical to driving economic growth.

Looking ahead, Phương urged ministries and provinces to carefully assess the readiness of each project, especially those involving ODA, before finalising capital allocation plans.

Projects deemed infeasible should be reported early to allow capital to be reallocated, avoiding mid-year adjustments that could affect the national capital balance.

“Public investment planning must be precise, realistic and aligned with each locality’s implementation capacity,” he said, adding that coordination between the Ministry of Finance and other managing agencies must be strengthened to speed up progress.

By 2026, as the two-tier local government model is expected to operate smoothly with improved infrastructure, staffing and management boards, and streamlined administrative procedures, there will be no excuses for delays in project implementation and disbursement, Phương stressed.

In the long term, the ministry is studying the development of a dedicated fund to receive and disburse ODA, which would accelerate progress and ensure transparency. The mechanism would shorten procedural timelines and improve the efficient use of foreign capital, especially in infrastructure, energy and sustainable development. 

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