Hanoi (VNA) - Public investment disbursement nationwide was estimated at 110 trillion VND (4.23 billion USD) as of the late March, or 11% of the Government-assigned capital plan, the Finance Ministry told its quarterly press briefing in Hanoi on April 9.
The figures signalled improvement from a year earlier. The first-quarter disbursement rate was 1.2 percentage points higher than in Q1 2025, while the total disbursed value jumped by roughly 30 trillion VND year-on-year.
Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi said the Government and the Prime Minister have poured ample time and resources into driving public investment spending, with repeated reviews and a series of systematic, decisive solutions already in place.
Building on those directions, mechanisms and policies governing public investment have been thoroughly reviewed and revised. Within the ministry’s remit, key regulations have been adjusted to smooth project rollout and cut red tape as much as possible.
Specifically, decentralisation and delegation of authority have been accelerated; bidding and contractor selection procedures streamlined; capital allocation, payment, and settlement processes simplified; and planning, land, and natural resource issues cleared to prevent bottlenecks in project delivery.
“In recent years, the system of mechanisms, policies, and laws related to public investment has never been as favourable as it is now,” Chi said. While stopping short of calling the framework perfect, he noted that current regulations now provide markedly better conditions for project rollout.
From this standpoint, Chi argued that persistent slow disbursement stems primarily from implementation on the ground. Ministries, agencies, and localities must fully recognise their responsibilities and take more effective solutions to fix existing weaknesses.
He underscored public investment’s critical role as one of the main pillars of economic growth, which is why it continues to receive the highest level of direction.
Units failing to launch assigned projects, disburse allocated capital, or deliver poor performance will be judged as not meeting their tasks, and in some cases rated at a low level. This performance evaluation system is designed to generate both pressure and motivation, sharpening accountability and speeding up results.
Further institutional improvements, coupled with stricter discipline and enforcement, are expected to drive clearer progress in public investment disbursement, supporting broader economic growth and sustainable development.
Le Tien Dung, Deputy Director of the ministry’s Infrastructure Development Department, noted that in the early months of the year, the Prime Minister has held conferences on public investment disbursement. At regular Government meetings and sessions of the steering committee for national key projects in the transport sector, strong directives have been issued to clear bottlenecks and accelerate progress.
Ministries, agencies, and localities have accordingly been told to roll out coordinated measures to boost disbursement, with special focus on major infrastructure projects that carry high spillover effects and can open new development space for the economy.
At the same time, the ministry has proactively managed the state budget to ensure adequate and timely capital allocation under the 2026 plan, with priority given to strategic and inter-regional infrastructure projects with strong disbursement capacity and rapid spillover impact.
The ministry also directed the State Treasury to disburse funds immediately once projects meet required conditions, preventing capital bottlenecks and keeping projects on track. It has further reported monthly performance indices to the Prime Minister to evaluate results across ministries, agencies, and localities, enabling tighter monitoring and swift corrective action.
These concerted solutions, from institutional improvement and greater decentralisation to administrative reform, heightened accountability, and more use of technology, are expected to create strong momentum in public investment disbursement, contributing to economic growth and sustainable infrastructure development./.
