Targets set high for disbursement

Significant roads, tunnels, and more are being built through central and local budgets

Last week Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged for implementation of key tasks, setting a target of disbursement of 95 per cent of public investment this year.

“This year must be the year to accelerate the construction of key transport infrastructure ventures- one of the three strategic breakthroughs that the Party and state have raised,” PM Chinh stated. “These ventures should become reality and generate important significance and benefits for the country’s socioeconomic development.”

The PM demanded that progress be pushed on key transport projects that cost approximately $17.6 billion in total. They include some parts of the North-South Expressway’s eastern cluster, Hanoi ring road 4 and Ho Chi Minh City ring road 3, Long Thanh International Airport, Tan Son Nhat Airport’s T3 terminal, and the 500KV transmission line circuit 3 from Quang Trach to Pho Noi.

Many major construction sites did not take a break for Lunar New Year. At the Tuyen Quang-Ha Giang expressway, which is costing over $415 million, many sections completed excavation and embankment. On the first official working day after the holiday, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and a delegation visited to check the progress.

“I appreciate Ha Giang province in site clearance and preparing the best conditions to start construction. This expressway plays an important role in improving traffic in two provinces and the northern mountainous region,” Dung said.

In Ho Chi Minh City at the Nguyen Van Linh underground tunnel project, workers took on shifts throughout the holiday to speed up construction. Around a dozen key schemes were still under construction during the festive break in the city, including five traffic works with key connectivity and large construction volumes.

Of these, ring road 3 will have 10 construction packages in 2024 that will play a vital role in the progress of the entire project.

In 2023, the disbursement of public investment capital in Ho Chi Minh City reached $2 billion, nearly double that of 2022 and equivalent to 72 per cent of the yearly plan. In particular, disbursement in Q1 of 2023 was a measly 4 per cent. As a result, city authorities have been carrying out new solutions to ensure this quarter fares better.

“We have built a detailed plan for each bidding package, especially in key projects, for those without site clearance problems, and other constructions. The city is striving to reach a disbursement rate of 10 -12 per cent in the first quarter,” said Luong Minh Phuc, director of the project management unit for investment and construction of traffic works in Ho Chi Minh City.

This year, Ho Chi Minh City continues to be assigned the largest public investment allocation in the country, at nearly $3.3 billion. The city’s government estimates to contribute about one-fifth of the total budget of the city if this amount of capital is disbursed.

“We should not only look at the disbursement rate of public investment capital, but we must pay more attention to the disbursement value, amount, and number of ventures implemented and put into operation. Because they will encourage localities to dare to receive capital, enhance responsibility, and further carry out investments,” said National Assembly deputy Tran Hoang Ngan.

In 2024, the total capital that the legislature approved and allocated to ministries, central agencies, and localities is $27.4 billion, including $9.4 billion from the central budget, and the remainder from the local coffers.

In last week’s directive, the prime minister assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to preside over and coordinate with agencies and localities to monitor progress on disbursement. Based on the proposals of relevant authorities, the ministry will report on extending the time to allocate capital for projects assigned to the medium-term public investment plan covering 2021-2025.

Minister pledges public investment disbursement push The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is determined to expedite the disbursement of public investment funds this year, while eliminating inefficiencies in investment allocation, with the goal of exceeding the 65.1 per cent disbursement rate of 2023.