Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has demanded ministries, sectors and localities to take stronger actions to speed up the disbursement of the public investment capital plan for 2019, as the disbursement so far is at a critically low level.

The public investment capital disbursed in the first seven months of 2019
is very low, reaching only 32.27 percent of the year’s target (Photo: VNA) 

According to the PM’s document, there remains 35.148 trillion VND (1.51 billion USD), or 9.3 percent of the state budget’s investment plan for 2019 approved by the National Assembly, on which allocation plans hasn’t been submitted to the PM by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

 The capital disbursed in the first seven months is very low, reaching only 32.27 percent of the year’s target. Notably, only 10.96 percent of the foreign capital planned for disbursement this year was allocated. The respective figures in the same period of 2018 were 37.64 percent and 22.63 percent.

 Thirty-five ministries and central-level agencies and 26 provincial-level localities had less than 40 percent of their assigned disbursement targets fulfilled.

 The snail’s pace of disbursement has undermined the efficiency of public funds use, which in turn has affected economic growth, fiscal and monetary policy implementation, as well as the investment and business climate, PM Phuc said.

 Aside from several objective factors, subjective ones are the main causes, especially shortcomings in the management and implementation of disbursement plans.

 Pointing out tasks to ministries, sectors and localities, the PM said their leaders must take responsibility for performing those duties, and they must discipline any organisations or individuals intentionally hampering disbursement progress.

 PM Phuc is set to chair a national teleconference in the latter half of September to discuss ways to promote public investment capital disbursement.