The workload remained huge for the transport sector in the remaining months of this year as more than VNĐ45 trillion must be disbursed. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Feasibility in disbursement must be studied carefully before proposing and approving new public – investment projects, Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang said during a meeting with the Working Group No 3 including 17 ministries and agencies on solutions to speed up disbursement of public investment in remaining months of this year.

Quang said that many projects had been raised for allocation of public investment but failed to be implemented for many years.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s report showed that under the National Assembly’s plan, the total public investment this year was at VNĐ711.68 trillion (US$29.16 billion), in which the Working Group No 3 was in charge of nearly VNĐ43 trillion.

As of August 31, the group reported the disbursement rate of 44.12 per cent, higher than the country’s average of 42.35 per cent.

Ministries and agencies with good disbursement results include the Management Board of the President Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum (58.49 per cent), Ministry of National Defence (50 per cent), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (42.8 per cent) and Việt Nam Farmers’ Union.

However, some reported low disbursement rates of below 10 per cent. Projects with slow disbursement are those mostly related to equipment purchasing, construction or information technology upgrading.

Vice Chairman of the Government Office Cao Huy said that accountability must be enhanced at ministries and agencies with low disbursement rates while solutions must be raised to speed up disbursement and achieve the disbursement rate of at least 95 per cent.

Stressing the important role of public investment disbursement in promoting socio-economic development, Deputy PM Quang said that close watch would be on ministries and agencies which were found to refund the allocated investment with an aim to beautify their disbursement rates.

For future public projects, ministries and agencies must study their feasibility carefully, especially in site clearance and planning to prevent failure in disbursement, he said.

The Working Group No 3 was one among five working groups established under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 235/QĐ-TTg dated March 13, to speed up public investment disbursement in 2023.

Remove bottlenecks

The Ministry of Transport which was allocated VNĐ95.2 trillion worth of public investment in 2023 achieved a disbursement rate of 52 per cent.

Despite a good disbursement rate, the workload remained huge for the transport sector in the remaining months of this year as more than VNĐ45 trillion must be disbursed.

In order to speed up the disbursement, it was critical to remove bottlenecks in term of policies and site clearance, the ministry said.

According to the ministry’s Department of Planning and Investment, transport projects such as Mai Sơn – National Highway No. 45, Vĩnh Hảo – Phan Thiết, Phan Thiết – Dầu Giây, Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge which got around VNĐ4 trillion sourced from the socio-economic recovery and development programme were waiting for detailed instructions for the disbursement of the capital.

Some projects were stuck due to slow site clearance, including component projects of the North-South Expressway.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thắng urged hastened efforts to remove bottlenecks in site clearance and materials to fulfil the disbursement goal.

Still, control must be enhanced to ensure quality of projects, he stressed. — VNS