First-half public investment disbursement stagnant

HCMC – Half of the year has passed, yet ministries and other central agencies have disbursed just over a quarter of the full-year public investment plan, according to the Department of Debt Management and External Finance at the Ministry of Finance.

Between January and June, only VND3,225 billion of public investment capital has been disbursed by five out of 11 ministries and agencies, reaching a meager 27.2% of the annual target, showed data given at a conference on public capital disbursement held on June 28.

Among the five ministries and agencies, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development achieved respective disbursement rates of 47.4%, 31%, and 30.5% of their annual targets.

However, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Education and Training struggled, with disbursement rates reaching only 4.2% and 5.3%, respectively.

Delays in land clearance and resettlement, along with contract finalization with design consultants and disputes between contractors and investors, have led to the foot-dragging disbursement rates.

The disbursement of public investment funded by official development assistance loans in localities has also lagged behind schedule, with only 7.6% of the allocated VND34.5 trillion disbursed by provinces and centrally-run cities this year.

Out of the total 50 provinces and cities, only eight have disbursed more than 15% of the allocated capital, while 13 others have not disbursed any funds at all.

The sluggish disbursement rates may hard it hard to achieve the objectives outlined in Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s Directive 08, issued on March 23 to achieve a disbursement rate of at least 95% for all planned public investments this year.

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