A view of the HCM City's High-Tech Park. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade has disbursed only 70.8 per cent of its allocated state budget as of December, raising concerns about delays in public investment for 2024.

Out of the VNĐ538 trillion (approximately US$21 billion) planned for this year, about VNĐ381 trillion has been disbursed, per the ministry's annual report.

The primary reasons for the shortfall are procedural bottlenecks, especially evident in the allocation of funds for projects in HCM City’s High-Tech Park. A significant obstacle was the delay in land allocation, which was only finalized at the end of 2023. This delay necessitated revisions to the detailed 1:500-scale zoning plans and led to the rollover of unspent 2023 funds into 2024, thereby limiting the capacity for new allocations this year.

Further complicating matters, regulatory challenges have also played a part. For instance, current zoning regulations now require projects with even a single-level basement to undergo adjustments to the 1:2000 zoning plans before proceeding to 1:500-scale revisions, a change from earlier requirements that applied only to projects with two or more basement levels.

Two significant projects at the High-Tech Park — the S.I.S Stroke Research and Treatment Centre and Blue Ocean Park — have been delayed due to these regulatory gaps in underground construction guidelines.

In response, the park’s management board has called on HCM City’s Department of Planning and Architecture to speed up the approval process for zoning adjustments and to update the 1:2000 master plan to include regulations on subterranean spaces.

Despite these challenges, the High-Tech Park has issued five investment registration certificates in the first nine months of 2024, which includes four foreign projects totaling nearly US$2 million and one domestic project valued at over VNĐ573 billion ($22 million). These projects, though smaller in scale, are in line with Việt Nam's strategic focus on attracting high-tech industries and leveraging skilled labour. VNS