Work on the project to upgrade Road DT841 in Đồng Tháp Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — With the current progress, Việt Nam must disburse an additional VNĐ406.6 trillion (US$15.4 billion) to fulfil this year’s public investment plan – a highly challenging task that requires strong and decisive action in the remaining two months.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) reported that as of November 6, public investment disbursement had reached nearly VNĐ495.5 trillion, equivalent to 54.9 per cent of the target set by the Prime Minister.

Compared with October 30, the sum increased by VNĐ18.8 trillion, or 2.1 percentage points.

Ministries and central agencies achieved an average disbursement rate of around 47.2 per cent, while localities averaged 57.2 per cent.

HCM City – the locality with the largest capital plan – disbursed VNĐ68.2 trillion (56.7 per cent), up 4.3 percentage points from the previous week. As the country’s economic engine, HCM City must disburse over VNĐ50 trillion in the final two months of the year.

Hoàng Vũ Thanh, deputy director of the municipal Department of Finance, acknowledged the challenge but affirmed that the city is applying comprehensive measures, especially accelerating site clearance for major projects.

In the North, Hải Phòng rose from 69.8 per cent to 73.4 per cent, with cumulative disbursement exceeding VNĐ26.4 trillion. Ninh Bình continued to lead nationwide, reaching 98.6 per cent, or more than VNĐ28.4 trillion, as of November 6.

The MoF noted that 29 ministries and central agencies remain below the national average. Some manage large capital volumes but show slow progress.

As of November 6, the Ministry of Construction had disbursed VNĐ35.8 trillion (43.6 per cent), while the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reached VNĐ9.1 trillion (43.8 per cent). The Ministry of Health continued to lag furthest behind, with disbursement of only 13.2 per cent of its VNĐ7.2-trillion allocation.

Delays were attributed to unrealistic planning, repeated capital adjustments and persistent site clearance obstacles, particularly for transport and resettlement projects. Supply shortages, weak capacity among contractors, and severe weather – including recent storms and flooding – also slowed implementation.

To achieve full-year disbursement and support growth of 8.3–8.5 per cent, the ministry urged ministries and provinces to rigorously carry out Government directives, remove procedural bottlenecks, resolve site clearance issues, ensure stable construction material supplies, and strengthen accountability of project owners.

Phi Hương Nga, head of the industry and construction statistics division at the National Statistics Office, stressed that public investment disbursement is crucial to reaching the year’s 8 per cent growth target. She warned that the storm season may continue to disrupt construction and materials transport.

She called for faster deployment of ongoing and newly approved projects, prioritisation of essential works, and detailed weekly and monthly progress tracking.

Localities should promptly reallocate funds to well-performing projects capable of early completion, speed up compensation and site clearance, and secure adequate construction materials for key national works.

Lê Tiến Dũng, deputy director of the MoF’s Infrastructure Development Department, said eight Government working groups are working directly with ministries and provinces to remove bottlenecks. He urged detailed disbursement schedules, tighter progress monitoring, faster ODA procedures and timely updates to the national public investment database.

He warned that without concerted implementation of these measures, meeting the 100 per cent disbursement target for 2025 will remain highly challenging. — VNA/VNS