Construction of expanded Cao Bo Bridge in the northern province of Ninh Binh, a key section of the North-South Expressway. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is making all-out efforts to boost thedisbursement of public investment as it seeks to post GDP growth of 3 percentthis year amid the global economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government views public investment as an engine for growth that can offsetthe impact of the pandemic.
The country saw encouraging growth in disbursement in August compared withearlier in the year, with a number of key projects creating spill-over effectson the economy and supporting economic recovery and social stability.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO), totalinvestment in socio-economic development during the first nine months of thisyear rose 4.8 percent compared to the same period last year, the lowest figuresince 2016 and proof that COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on all economicsectors.
Meanwhile, investment funded by the State budget grew 33 percentyear-on-year, the highest rate since 2016.
Boosting public investment would be an efficient solution to lifting economicgrowth, given that every increase of 1 percent in public investmentdisbursement would push up GDP by 0.06 percentage points, then GSO DirectorNguyen Bich Lam said earlier in the year.
Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that, as of August, publicinvestment disbursement was less than 50 percent of the annual plan but hadrisen to 57 percent by the end of September after more than 33.91 trillion VND(over 1.46 billion USD) wasdisbursed, with 23 cities and provinces nationwide fulfilling over 60 percentof the disbursement goal.
There were 11 ministries and localities, however, that ended Septemberwith public investment disbursement at less than 20 percent of the annual plan,the Ministry of Finance said.
National disbursement is still far below the annual target, with ratesvarying between ministries and localities, according to Deputy Minister ofPlanning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong.
He attributed the low disbursement to poor-quality planning and a lackof uniformity that causes waste and inefficiency in infrastructure investment.Site clearance has encountered a wide range of obstacles that have slowed downprogress at most projects, Phuong noted.
Phuong expects that the rate of public investment disbursement will reach95-97 percent, becoming a primary driver for Vietnam to achieve its GDP growth targetthis year.
To expand disbursement, the government should further empower ministriesand localities in developing detailed investment plans for each project, hesaid.
Auditor Deputy General Doan Xuan Tien said that if legal andinstitutional barriers are the root cause behind the delays in disbursement,these must be fixed as quickly as possible, as the management of publicinvestment is based on policies and legal mechanisms./.
VNA
