HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has asked all relevant agencies and local authorities to fast track the disbursement of public investment capital to accomplish socio-economic development targets by the end of 2016.

He said it was necessary to disburse the 2016 capital by the deadline, especially budget capital, Government bonds and Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital.

He made the statement while chairing a meeting with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance and Government Office on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

The disbursement of public investment capital has been moving at a slow pace in the first six months of this year compared to the target.

Ministries, sectors and localities have disbursed about VNĐ81.8 trillion (US$3.6 billion) of public investment capital in the first five months of this year, completing 32.6 per cent of the disbursement plan for 2016, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Public investment capital disbursement must be regarded as an urgent task, he said, adding that if no action is taken,  national economic growth will be seriously affected.

Officials at the meeting ascribed the slow disbursement this year to a delay by several ministries, agencies and localities in issuing 2016 capital allocation plans and submitting specific mechanism on managing investment for the PM’s approval.

The disbursement process was also hindered by the slow assessment of capital and the capital balance of public investment projects, especially those under national target programmes, officials said.

Difficulties in land clearance, incompetent contractors and complicated procedures also contributed to the problem.

PM Phúc urged ministries and sectors to review the responsibilities of those in charge of public investment disbursement and hand down strict penalties for any delays, such as ending capital or replacing unqualified contractors.

A decree that focuses on hastening capital disbursements in 2016 with clarified solutions and assigned tasks for each ministry must be submitted to the PM for approval next week, he said.

The PM also asked Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ, who heads the steering committee for public investment disbursement, and his team to step up supervision of the disbursement process.

Việt Nam enacted the revised Law on Public Investment on January 1, 2015, to provide a comprehensive legal framework for restructuring the public investment process. An important new point in the law is five-year planning, in accordance with the country’s five-year socio-economic development plans, which will facilitate the allocation of investment resources and help ministries and localities make suitable investment decisions, he said.

The law is intended to maximise the efficiency of public investment, especially given limited capital resources, and to facilitate the transparent use of State and local funding. — VNS