A view of the Government's regular meeting for June and teleconference with local authorities on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Local authorities nationwide have pledged to step up public investment, remove development bottlenecks and unlock new growth drivers in the second half of 2026, reaffirming their determination to help the country achieve double-digit economic growth this year.

Speaking at the Government's regular meeting for June and teleconference with local authorities on Saturday, leaders of major cities and provinces outlined measures to accelerate growth, improve public investment disbursement and create new momentum for economic expansion.

Chairman of the Hà Nội People's Committee Vũ Đại Thắng said the capital posted GRDP growth of 8.22 per cent in the first six months of the year – its highest first-half growth rate in recent years. Budget revenue reached about VNĐ410 trillion (US$nearly 15.6 billion), while public investment disbursement stood at VNĐ64 trillion, equivalent to over 53 per cent of the annual target assigned by the Prime Minister and exceeding the pace recorded in the same period of previous years.

Despite the positive results, Thắng acknowledged that Hà Nội has yet to meet its double-digit growth target. He affirmed the city's commitment to that goal, saying the remaining months of the year will be devoted to accelerating implementation rather than lowering expectations.

According to the official, Hà Nội will focus on mobilising and efficiently using all available resources while maximising the advantages provided by the Capital Law to create new growth momentum. It will speed up public investment disbursement, remove bottlenecks related to site clearance, planning and investment procedures, and accelerating strategic infrastructure projects, including ring roads, bridges, railways, social housing, and rental housing.

The capital also ledged to improve the development quality in culture, social affairs, health care and education, placing people at the centre of development.

Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Nguyễn Văn Được reported that Vietnam's largest economic hub recorded economic growth of 8.55 per cent in the first half, the highest in a decade, contributing 24.5 per cent of the country's GDP. The result reflects the tremendous efforts made by the entire political system and the business community despite numerous difficulties and challenges.

Public investment disbursement exceeded VNĐ51.6 trillion, equivalent to 35 per cent of the annual plan during the first half. Được attributed the sharp acceleration in June to stronger leadership and personnel restructuring, including the reassignment of 46 capable personnel from municipal departments, agencies and city-level bodies to commune-level administrations to support project implementation.

Although the southern metropolis's growth remained below its 10 per cent target and the disbursement rate also fell short of expectations, he reaffirmed its determination to achieving double-digit growth and collecting more than VNĐ1 quadrillion in state budget revenue this year.

HCM City will focus on pressing on with the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s directions, along with key resolutions of the Politburo and the National Assembly, mobilising more private investment, fully disbursing public investment capital and accelerating the approval of its master plan to facilitate new investment projects in the time to come.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hà Tĩnh Phan Thiên Định said the central province achieved GRDP growth of 12.79 per cent in the first half, driven mainly by manufacturing, steel production, energy and electric vehicle industries. He added that the Vũng Áng Economic Zone continued to serve as the province's principal growth engine.

Identifying public investment as a key and overarching political task as well as a catalyst for mobilising social investment, Hà Tĩnh has established dedicated task forces led by the provincial vice chairpersons to regularly oversee and accelerate public investment disbursement while improving the efficiency of investment management and capital utilisation, he said.

So far, its public investment disbursement has reached nearly 56.9 per cent of the annual plan. It also approved 32 new investment projects worth more than $412 million, including four foreign-invested projects, while speeding up the resolution of long-delayed investment projects to unlock development resources, according to Định.

In his speech, Chairman of the People's Committee of central Gia Lai province Phạm Anh Tuấn said the locality is accelerating implementation of 405 approved investment projects worth more than VNĐ350 trillion, and expanding large-scale raw material production areas to sustain growth of around 10 per cent this year.

He also proposed central authorities allocate additional medium-term public investment and ODA funding for developing irrigation infrastructure in large material zones.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc said Hà Nội and HCM City together account for about one-third of Việt Nam's GDP. He stressed that their commitment to achieving growth of more than 10 per cent will play a decisive role in helping the country meet its double-digit growth target for 2026. — VNA/VNS