Government works to speed up public investment disbursement

This indicates greater efforts being made in this regard after slow paced public investment disbursement during the initial months of this year, especially relating to foreign-sourced capital.

These working groups will be in charge of identifying difficulties and problems in the implementation of public-invested projects, especially projects which use official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans from foreign donors at ministries, central-level agencies, and localities. Their purpose will be to recommend solutions to accelerate the disbursement of public investment and increase capital use efficiency.

The latest updates provided by the Ministry of Finance highlight that the disbursement of public investment stood at an estimated 18.48% in January to April, slightly lower than the rate of 18.65% from the same period last year.

Most notably, the disbursement of foreign-sourced capital stood at a mere 3.25%, while domestic-sourced at 19.57%.

Seven ministries and eight localities had a disbursement rate exceeding 25%, while 43 out of 51 ministries and central-level agencies, as well as 28 out of 63 provinces and cities, had disbursement rates below 17%.

The Ministry pointed out that the slow disbursement of public investment can be put down to the lack of determination and drastic measures in implementing public-invested projects, with some facing problems in land clearance and selecting contractors. In addition, the skyrocketing price of construction materials also caused delays in implementation.

Furthermore, the Ministry’s statistics also revealed that 12 ministries and central-level agencies, along with 21 provinces and cities, had yet to complete the capital allocation plan.

As part of efforts to fast-track public investment disbursement, the Ministry of Finance has asked for the co-operation of the Ministry of Planning and Investment to transfer the capital which had not been allocated as of the end of March to ministries, agencies, and localities with ongoing projects which have demand for capital.

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong, the disbursement of public investment has often been intensified in the two last quarters of the year.

Simplifying administrative procedures would also contribute to accelerating public investment disbursement.

Specifically, the State Treasury has shortened the capital settlement time from four days to one for the advance and payment of 80% of the completed volume. Other payments can now be made within three working days.

According to the Ministry, the focus will be placed on strengthening the accountability of the heads in implementing public-invested projects, along with problems related to land clearance and resources which must also be resolved.