Disbursement of public investment – a turbo booster for economic growth

Vietnam has worked to step up disbursement of public capital to bolster the economy.

Amidst global headwinds, Vietnam has worked to step up disbursement of public capital to bolster the economy as Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has reiterated the significance of public investment disbursement as a motive to fuel economic growth in short term as well as put in place uniform and modern infrastructure to lure more investment for sustainable development.

At an economic seminar on October 5, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong highlighted that the disbursed capital during January-September topped 363 trillion VND (14.89 billion USD), up 46.7% from the same time last year.

The disbursement of investment sourced from the State budget was estimated at 51.38% of the yearly plan, the highest rate ever, Phuong said.

Director General of the General Statistics Office Nguyen Thi Huong said that the result is a vivid illustration of the Government and localities’ resolve to bolster implementation of projects right from the beginning of the year so as to create a driving force for economic growth in Q3, first nine months and the whole year.

A large volume of public capital will be disbursed in 2023, including for the socio-economic recovery and development programme, she said, adding procedures have been completed for projects under the investment plan during the 2021-2025 period, creating favourable conditions for promoting the implementation of public investment.

Localities with highest disbursement rates included Long An (68%), Tien Giang (61%) and Dong Thap (55%).

Meanwhile, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, An Giang and Ho Chi Minh City experienced the lowest disbursement rate. Particularly, the figure in Ho Chi Minh City was only 30% due to bottlenecks in site clearance process.

Phuong stressed that enhancing discipline is critical to deliver on the target of disbursing at least 95% the public investment budget.

Ministries, sectors and localities should make concerted efforts to remove bottlenecks in a timely and effective fashion, Phuong said, adding strict punishment should be meted out to any officials who delay the disbursement.

According to economist Nguyen Bich Lam, former General Director of the General Statistics Office, the disbursement of 95% of public investment will spur the GDP to rise 1.3%.

Public investment is an important booster for the economic growth in 2023 and the coming years, he said./.