Mr. Hoang Hai, Deputy Director of Department of Debt Management and External Finance

Six ministries propose returning allocated funds

According to Hoang Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance, as 2024 draws to a close, the Ministry of Finance and related agencies need to review disbursement results, identify solvable issues, and propose directions and solutions to accelerate disbursement in 2025 from the beginning of the year.

He noted that, based on reports from central ministries and data from the TABMIS system, the disbursement rate for public investment from foreign loans as of November 2024 stood at 39.06% of the adjusted plan.

Among the ministries, two achieved a disbursement rate above 50% (Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment); four ministries have yet to disburse any allocated foreign loan funds for 2024 (Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and Ministry of Health).

Pham Thi Hong Van, Head of the Central Project Management Division under the Department of Debt Management and External Finance, highlighted that as of November 30, 2024, the rate of budget allocation input into TABMIS reached 96.94% of the adjusted foreign loan allocation plan, totaling over VND8.1539 trillion.

She also noted that six ministries had proposed returning a total of VND2.0924 trillion in unutilized foreign loan allocations, including both allocated and unallocated amounts: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed returning VND819.14 billion out of VND1.33414 trillion; Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed returning the full allocation of VND325.13 billion; Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs proposed returning VND37.38 billion out of VND37.78 billion; Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology proposed returning VND350 billion out of VND1.2939 trillion; Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City proposed returning VND370 billion VND out of VND572.86 billion; Ministry of Health proposed returning the full allocation of VND190.77 billion.

However, the Prime Minister has so far approved only a reduction of VND1.12911 trillion from the foreign loan budget, including full reductions for the Ministry of Industry and Trade and partial reductions for the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Tackling bottlenecks to accelerate disbursement

During the conference, ministries and agencies discussed the main causes of slow disbursement, including delays in land clearance and bidding processes, prolonged adjustments to project investment decisions, extended timelines for loan agreement amendments, delayed feedback from donors on bidding documents and related procedures.

View of the meeting

To address these challenges, attendees agreed on several key measures such as strengthening supervision and focusing on executing projects that have completed investment preparations; accelerating solutions for land clearance, bidding, and other issues within the scope of authority; compiling and reporting issues beyond ministerial authority to higher levels for resolution.

Hoang Hai emphasized that achieving the 2024 disbursement targets requires comprehensive and decisive actions from the entire political system, including the Government, ministries, and local authorities.

The Ministry of Finance urged regulatory ministries to closely monitor and promptly guide project owners in resolving obstacles, ensuring the disbursement goals for 2024 are met.