Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy PrimeMinister Trinh Dinh Dung held a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD) in Hanoi on August 19 to examine public investmentdisbursement in the agriculture sector.
The ministry has been assigned to allocate over17.32 trillion VND (749.9 million USD) in funds this year, including 1.8trillion VND in foreign capital the ministry returned to the State as it isunable to disburse it.
The sum also includes 9.9 trillion VND sourcedfrom Government bonds, with about 8 trillion VND for construction and another1.88 trillion VND for site clearance compensation.
Though the greatest challenge facing constructionis site clearance, the MARD has accelerated and completed many plannedprojects, it said, and affirmed it will disburse all of the funding forconstruction in 2020.
It was also tasked with allocating 2.1 trillionVND for compensation and resettlement this year, but 223 billion VND has beentransferred to fund construction due to slow capital disbursement for siteclearance.
Regarding projects funded through officialdevelopment assistance (ODA), the ministry was given more than 3.6 trillion VNDto disburse this year but actual needs are just 1.83 trillion VND. Given this, theMARD and the Ministry of Planning and Investment proposed the Prime Ministertransfer the remaining capital to other sectors.
As of the end of July, the MARD had disbursed36.6 percent of all public funding sources and expects the rate to reach 94.1percent for the year as a whole.
Deputy PM Dung said the agriculture sector hasmany important projects in the pipeline and the disbursement of publicinvestment is critical in developing agricultural infrastructure, which in turncreates conditions for attracting more investment to the sector and improvingproductivity and product quality.
He asked the MARD to work with other ministriesand sectors to remove obstacles facing project implementation, including in regardto site clearance and construction, while ensuring project progress and qualityand preventing waste.
He also suggested the MARD and other ministriesbuild investment plans for important facilities like those regulating saltwaterand freshwater in the Mekong Delta, wharves for fishing boats, reinforcement ofreservoirs and dams, and natural disaster prevention efforts.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development NguyenXuan Cuong said the progress and the efficiency of public investmentdisbursement are both important, noting that the building of saltwater controlfacilities in the Mekong Delta has been sped up to help mitigate the severedrought and saline intrusion seen earlier this year.
He pledged that the ministry would work hard toensure the progress and the quality of projects funded with public capital./.
VNA
