Unable to delay, Quang Nam determined to disburse public investment capital

Construction, repair and upgrade of Phan Chau Trinh Street, Hoi An City (photo taken on March 19, 2025). Photo: Trinh Dung

Disbursement rate below average

The Department of Finance announced that as of mid-March 2025, Quang Nam's 2025 public investment capital plan had disbursed more than 435/8,312 billion VND, reaching 5.24% of the capital plan assigned by the Provincial People's Committee and 6.1% of the capital plan assigned by the Prime Minister (central budget reached 5.5%, local budget reached 5.1%).

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cong - Director of the Department of Finance, the reason for the low disbursement rate is that units and localities are conducting review procedures, proposing to extend the 2024 capital plan to 2025 and focusing on completing documents to pay the volume.

The reorganization of administrative agencies and units leading to the transfer of investor responsibilities has caused difficulties in terms of personnel, project information and project continuity. The seals of some investors have been revoked, so many projects and works, despite their volume, have not been able to complete payment records for disbursement...

According to Mr. Cong, the main reason, the biggest bottleneck that has occurred for many years, is that localities are still not determined and not closely following up. When implementing the project, there is a lack of coordination to resolve difficulties and obstacles in site clearance, and a lack of supply of construction materials (construction sand, landfill soil).

The project to complete Road 129 will be completed and fully disbursed in 2025. Photo by TRINH DUNG taken at Tam Tien Bridge on March 10, 2025

It is not excluded that complex and unusual weather conditions have caused many projects to be interrupted. Projects using ODA capital and foreign preferential loans are disbursed slowly because the review and acceptance by sponsors of investment procedures and withdrawal documents often takes a long time, leading to slow disbursement compared to projects using other sources of capital.

The disbursement rate just announced is too low. Quang Nam is ranked among 26 localities below the national average (the national average disbursement according to the Ministry of Finance is 7.32%).

The pressure to disburse as required by the Government (at least 95% by the end of 2025) has made the government impatient, finding it difficult to find a comprehensive strategy to be able to disburse all 8,312 billion VND of planned capital for 2025 (not to mention that there will be several thousand billion VND that the Central Government will supplement for investment projects on National Highways 14D and 14B).

The great pressure on disbursement forced the government to issue an official dispatch on March 17, 2025, requesting investors and localities to step up field inspection and supervision, regularly evaluate the disbursement rate of inter-regional projects, key projects, and large capital plans to promptly handle and resolve arising difficulties and problems.

Units and localities with public investment disbursement rates below the provincial average need to step in to inspect and supervise the implementation of public duties, speed up the disbursement progress of each project, each quarter, and specify the responsibilities of the head in case of slow disbursement!

Effort until the last day

Investors and localities are committed to disbursing at least 95% of the 2025 public investment capital plan according to the direction of the Prime Minister and localities.

Speeding up the construction and repair progress of Cau Lau bridge, aiming for completion in 2025. Photo: TRINH DUNG, taken on March 16, 2025

Mr. Dao To Van - Director of the Van Ly Bridge Project Management Board (a project on the list to welcome the Provincial Party Congress) said that the capital plan for 2025 is about 86 billion VND (including land clearance money).

Payment will be made as the work progresses, but it depends largely on the progress of site clearance. If the site is cleared, this year's construction will exceed the volume and capital allocated in the plan.

It can be seen that key projects and works that are being celebrated (50 years of national reunification, provincial Party Congress...) must be completed in 2025, forcing them to speed up construction progress and disburse all allocated investment capital plans.

Projects are not easy to "achieve the target" as committed when the causes and reasons for the low disbursement rate seem to have been lingering for many years and have not found a way to change. Changes in political life and organizational arrangements also affect the psychology of investors, authorities, and the performance of public duties by officials. Contractors have a mentality of waiting, delaying, and not speeding up construction...

Mr. Bling Mia - Secretary of Tay Giang District Party Committee said that the locality has disbursed 18%, mainly projects and works with transitional volume. A working group will be set up to directly monitor the disbursement progress of each project. Any problems will be resolved. Construction works and projects with volume will be paid accordingly. If no additional capital is generated, the locality will ensure disbursement of up to 98% of the capital plan assigned at the beginning of the year. However, to overcome the difficulties, it is necessary to supplement the source of sand and gravel materials when mountainous areas and river basins still have little sand and gravel, so there needs to be a mechanism for full collection.

According to Mr. Le Quang Trung - Chairman of Phuoc Son District People's Committee, the locality committed to disbursing 100% of the capital plan (about 300 billion VND), but the projects and contractors are facing difficulties in materials, requiring the province to make efforts to resolve, open sand mines, auction, create conditions to complete procedures, and supply to the market soon.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Van Dung requested to tighten the discipline of disbursing public investment capital, striving to reach over 95%. Those who cause difficulties, hinder, and slow down the disbursement progress will be strictly punished.

Investors and localities develop detailed implementation and disbursement plans for each project, remove site clearance bottlenecks, and implement projects according to committed schedules.

Increase the transfer, cut, and reroute of planned capital sources from projects that are unable to disburse or do not meet the progress of disbursement, supplement projects with high disbursement, projects that need additional capital to pay off debt, site clearance, and projects with debt (by June 2025 at the latest, consider and promptly transfer capital...).

Do not let the reason of restructuring the apparatus, merging the province, or not organizing the district-level government be that the officials are irresponsible in performing the task of disbursing public investment capital.

Public investment discipline must be put first

Provincial Party Secretary Luong Nguyen Minh Triet affirmed that disbursement of public investment capital is the most important responsibility in local socio-economic development at present.

The current context has many impacts, it is easy to be distracted, work half-heartedly, even give up, avoid, not advise, handle problems and difficulties... so it is necessary to improve the responsibility of performing public duties. Discipline in public investment is the top priority.

Do not take things lightly because of the restructuring of the apparatus, the lack of organization at the district level, or the merger of the province. Otherwise, the task will not be completed. This is a revolution of restructuring and streamlining the apparatus, but it is also an opportunity and a criterion for evaluating and selecting future cadres if we are only allowed to select a few remaining cadres in the new apparatus! Those who avoid, give up, and lack responsibility... will no longer have a place!

Provincial Party Secretary Luong Nguyen Minh Triet requested localities to review and proactively implement all legal issues on public investment. When there is a merger policy, the Central Government will certainly guide the handover of public investment projects, then the documents must be tight, because when the seal is revoked, there will be no time to legalize documents and records. When the Central Government and ministries have specific instructions, the localities will be fully proactive in public investment work. Do not let anything related to old responsibilities.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/khong-the-tri-hoan-quang-nam-quyet-liet-giai-ngan-von-dau-tu-cong-3151070.html