Full disbursement - a key objective for 2022-23 public investment

Hai Yen

Feb 15, 2022 / 06:01 PM

The goal would be to fully disburse 100% of the allocated funds in 2022 with high quality and efficiency.

A push for a higher disbursement rate of the public investment fund should be seen as a key priority for ministries and localities during the 2022-2023 period.

Hanoi aims to push for fully disburse public investment funds this year. Photo: Hoang Ha

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed the view in a directive No.126/CD-TTg sent to ministers and leaders in provinces/cities, urging them to ensure swift and effective implementation of the US$15.4 billion socio-economic recovery program, and the public investment plan.

Under the plan, the prime minister asked each agency and locality to set up their own task force specialized in speeding up public investment.

Vietnam’s disbursement of public funds in 2021 was estimated at VND431.2 trillion ($19 billion), or 93.47% of the target set by the prime minister.

“The goal would be to fully disburse 100% of the allocated funds in 2022 with high quality and efficiency,” stated the directive, adding there should be strict punishment for a possible violation during the process of disbursing public funds.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is tasked with allocating sufficient funds for public investment and making public the performance of cities/provinces and ministries in the media.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) should set up an investment portfolio in the 2022-2023 period that is in line with the upcoming socio-economic recovery program.

Chinh also stressed the view of containing the pandemic in a flexible and safe manner to avoid any disruption to economic activities.

According to Chinh, a flexible and effective combination of fiscal and monetary policies would help stabilize macro-economic fundamentals, contain inflation, and support socio-economic recovery.

In this context, each locality should continue to focus on addressing the concerns of businesses; speed up the process of administrative reform and improving the business environment; promote online public services, innovation, digital transformation, and a green economy.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, is responsible for drafting a decree on subsidizing lending rates for businesses and households. The Government via the network of commercial banks would allocate a maximum of VND40 trillion ($1.76 billion) to offer an interest subsidy of 2% per annum for businesses in priority fields, especially those with good financial conditions and high potential to recover in the post-pandemic period.

In early 2022, the National Assembly issued Resolution No.43/2022/QH15 on monetary and fiscal support programs worth a combined total of VND350 trillion (US$15.4 billion) to aid economic recovery and adaptation to the new normal, scheduled to take effect in the 2022-2023 period.

Hanoi is allocated VND51.07 trillion ($2.2 billion) for public investment in 2022. To speed up the disbursement, the local authorities would focus on major transportation projects, including the urban railway project section Nhon – Hanoi station; urban railway line No.2 section Nam Thang Long – Tran Hung Dao; the urban railway line No.3 section Hanoi station – Hoang Mai.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh said the city is determined to fulfill the disbursement target for this year. A report from the General Statistics Office revealed Hanoi topped nationwide in terms of public funds disbursement at VND3.37 trillion ($148.2 million) in January.