The sector’s slow pace of capital disbursement has a great impact on activities of the national economy.

The following are excerpts from an interview granted by Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung to a Voice of Vietnam Radio reporter on the issue.

According to Mr Dung, slow capital disbursement is a common occurrence in the whole country including the transport sector. In October 2006, the Government assigned the task of capital disbursement to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) which has just started making preparations for investment projects since early this year. In addition, many agreements on capital disbursement were signed late last year and early this year.

Only after this period of preparation for investment will there be a sharp increase in capital disbursement by the end of the year or early next year, Mr Dung said.

The minister also attributed the slow pace of ODA disbursement to snags in land acquisition projects and poor financial capacity of construction contractors. There have been changes in the institutions but mismanagement remains a problem that needs to be resolved, he added.

Reporter: One of the reasons for slow disbursement was put down to the negative impacts of the ministry's Project Management Unit 18 (PMU18) scandal. What is your opinion?

Mr Dung: One reason was that the ministry had not taken drastic and timely action to direct PMUs. This was of course affected by the PMU 18 scandal but not the main reason. After the scandal, PMU 18 reorganised its staff but remained too hesitant and careful about capital disbursement.

Reporter: Unplanned investment might also hinder disbursement activities. What is your evaluation of investment activities in some departments of the MoT?

Mr Dung: There was not unplanned investment at the time. The ministry suspended many projects to focus on urgent ones. It allocated enough capital for the feasible projects while those projects considered to be below par would be suspended. How to use capital appropriately and effectively depends on the capacity of investors.

Reporter: What do you think about the transport sector’s capital disbursement capacity in 2007?

Mr Dung: The ministry is checking capital disbursement activities. It will create favourable condition for the feasible projects and adjust other projects, which have a slow start. After the adjustment, the ministry will strictly direct PMUs to fulfil the plan. It has just carried out inspection activities. For investors who are not able to complete the projects in time, the ministry will transfer the projects to other investors or help overcome difficulties and obstacles on the spot. I hope that the yearly target for capital disbursement will be fulfilled, creating a firm foundation for disbursing much more capital in 2008.

Reporter: Thank you very much