The Ministry of Transport disbursed VND26.7 trillion ($1.15 billion) in 2019, or 88 percent of the VND30.13 trillion ($1.3 billion) the government had attributed, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said at a meeting Thursday.

Hanoi’s first metro line Cat Linh-Ha Dong was among projects that faced delayed disbursement, along with the capital’s elevated Mai Dich-Nam Thang Long ring road in the northwestern part of the city, both involving Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Ministry departments had not been following project development, therefore could not make appropriate and timely proposals to modify investment capital, Deputy Minister Nhat explained.

Vietnam in 2019 had been repeatedly warned over slow disbursement across major transport projects.

Eric Sidgwick, country director for Asian Development Bank (ADB), said at a forum last June that Vietnam’s average disbursement rate was much lower than other recipients of ADB funding due to red tape.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last August ordered officials responsible for disbursement delays be punished.

In 2019, the transport ministry completed 16 projects and commenced construction of 15 others.