A road construction site in Hóc Môn District, HCM City. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - Measures must be taken to address a number of shortcomings and limitations in public investment and public projects, said deputies during the ongoing National Assembly meeting in Hà Nội.

Deputies voiced their concerns over poor planning and preparation, which have resulted in bottlenecks slowing down the disbursement of public funds.

Deputy Triệu Quang Huy from the northern province of Lạng Sơn said a major contributor to many projects' sluggish progress was inadequate preparation, leading to a large amount of capital unutilised.

He said while the disbursement rate for public projects during the first nine months of the year had improved in comparison to the same period last year, it had yet to reach the target set by the NA.

Huy said such prolonged projects were having a negative effect on the country's public investment funds and called for greater efforts by relevant ministries, particularly in introducing a clear legal framework to speed up their progress.

"Regarding the authority to approve adjustments to the investment direction of ODA projects, some details have not been clearly stipulated in the Public Investment Law and current regulations, causing difficulties for localities in reviewing the implementation of investment procedures for ODA projects," Huy said.

In addition, he urged the Government to quickly address problems related to land use conversion, and annual investment allocation and to issue clear guidance for the projects' implementation phase.

Deputy Trần Văn Tiến from the northern Vĩnh Phúc Province, said poor planning often resulted in numerous changes required during the implementation phase that caused delays in a number of key socioeconomic development projects.

"In some cases, funding had to be returned to the state budget because governmental agencies and local authorities failed to allocate the funds. While many projects have been delayed due to a lack of capital we are sitting on 6.5 per cent of unutilised funds," he said.

Deputy Lê Hữu Trí from the central province of Khánh Hòa said there was a need to identify the causes behind the slow disbursement rates among public projects, many of them key infrastructure projects crucial to national and regional development.

"Public investment funds need to be used for their intended purpose, achieve effectiveness, and avoid exploiting funds for personal gain," Trí said.

Deputies called for greater focus on improving the efficiency of public projects with key priorities being a coherent strategy for developing crucial infrastructure such as highways, and coastal and interregional roads to bolster regional connectivity, especially in the country's central and southwest regions.

In addition, deputies urged the government to implement policies that encourage and include the private sector in nation-building, stressing the importance of an effective Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) model, which would play a key role in a speedy build-up of Việt Nam's infrastructure. VNS