A section of the Biên Hoà- Vũng Tàu Expressway. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính signed an official dispatch on September 21, outlining key tasks and solutions to speed up public investment disbursement this year.

The document was sent to ministers, ministerial-level leaders, secretaries of municipal and provincial Party Committees and chairpersons of municipal and provincial People’s Committees.

According to the Ministry of Finance, as of the end of August, public investment disbursement reached 46.3 per cent of the annual plan, compared to 40.4 per cent recorded at the same time last year.

The Government leader praised eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies and 22 localities for outperforming the national average.

Meanwhile, he criticised 18 ministries and central agencies and 29 provinces for failing to allocate detailed plans for the capital already assigned, and another 29 ministries and central agencies and 12 provinces for disbursement rates below the national average. PM Chính ordered a strict review of collective and individual responsibilities and urged remedial measures.

The Government identified several root causes behind sluggish disbursement, such as weak administrative discipline, lack of drastic leadership, fear of responsibility among officials and ineffective implementation of the Government’s directives. Other obstacles included slow site clearance and resettlement procedures, poor communications work, shortages of building materials, and limited capacity among investors.

To achieve the goal of disbursing all planned public investment this year, PM Chính instructed ministries, agencies and localities to follow the Party and Government’s resolutions, treat acceleration of public capital disbursement as a top political task, and ensure clear accountability, responsibility, timelines and results.

Leaders are requested to set detailed disbursement schedules by week, month and quarter to push ahead with the disbursement. Unallocated funds must be distributed immediately, while underperforming projects will see funds reallocated to those with better progress. By September 25, ministries and provinces must report unused capital and reasons for delays to the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister.

Due attention must be paid to stabilising human resources amidst the ongoing implementation of the two-tier local government model, with qualified officials assigned to project management.

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for working with competent ministries, agencies and localities to review and propose capital transfers between agencies based on their performance in September. The ministry must submit weekly reports on disbursement to the Prime Minister every Friday morning.

Other ministries must review and revise legal frameworks on public investment as needed.

Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà will direct the removal of obstacles reported by ministries and localities, while the Government Office monitors implementation and reports emerging issues beyond its authority. VNS