Hanoi pushes for disbursement of public funds

The fulfillment of the disbursement target of public funds in Hanoi, which accounts for 10% of total public investment in Vietnam, would help ensure the realization of the country’s disbursement target, seen as a key solution to boost economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hanoi has set up six task forces specialized in accelerating the disbursement of public funds. Photo: Hai Linh.

As of November 10, the disbursed amount of public funds in Hanoi stood at VND22.35 trillion (US$965.35 million), meeting 57.5% of the target set by the government. To further accelerate the disbursement progress in the remaining months of the year, Hanoi has set up six task forces specialized in this regard.

For the public investment plan in 2021, Director of Hanoi’s Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Manh Quyen said the local authorities would identify priorities for investment and submit them to the municipal People’s Council in the upcoming meeting session in December.

“The allocation of state fund is aimed to realize Hanoi’s socio-economic development plan and the overall planning, with a focus on national projects or those with high impacts to the local economy,” he noted.

According to Mr. Quyen, priority would be given to projects that are set to be finished in the 2016 – 2020 period but still fall short of funds; projects financed by official development assistance (ODA) or preferential loans from foreign donors; major projects during the 2021 – 2025 period; among others.

Specifically, Hanoi would focus on transportation projects, aiming to boost inter-provincial and urban linkages, and information and technology, among others.

Public funds allocation should be carried out in a fair and transparent manner, he noted .

Hanoi’s leaders are scheduled to hold monthly or quarterly meeting with investors and each locality to discuss the progress of public investment and address bottlenecks during the process.

In late August, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc warned officials would face disciplinary actions if their ministries and localities fail to realize their respective disbursement targets of public investment funds for this year.

The government targets to disburse the full amount of VND630 trillion (US$27.26 billion) to aid economic recovery, and the progress as of September met 57.15% of the target.