Five-month ODA disbursement at localities meets 1.73 percent of yearly targets

Tran Xuan Ha, Deputy Minister of Finance, speaks at the conference. (Photo: VNA)

The disbursed amount of public investment funded by official development assistance (ODA) in localities in the first five months of this year stood at only over 1.1 trillion VND (47.9 million USD), equivalent to just 1.73 percent of the year’s target, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

As many as 37 out of 63 provinces and cities have not yet disbursed any capital and 15 provinces and cities have a disbursement rate of 3 percent.

The information was revealed at an online conference on June 14 between the ministry and localities to accelerate disbursement of ODA-funded public investment.

Tran Xuan Ha, Deputy Minister of Finance said the disbursement rate is even lower than that of last year.

Ha Minh Hai, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, said that by the end of May, the city disbursed 551 billion VND (24 million USD) of ODA capital, equals to 7.03 percent of the target.

He attributed the slow disbursement to the COVID-19 pandemic which made it difficult for foreign experts to come to Vietnam, and for the transport of imported machines and equipment.

He also cited difficulties caused by the adjustment of the cost and time of bidding packages due to the prolonged implementation of some projects and obstacles in site clearance.

“The city has asked for guidance from the ministries and branches. However, differences between Vietnamese laws and international practices or the sponsor's regulations when implementing contracts with international contractors have resulted in some disputes," Hai said.

According to the MoT, in addition to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a delay in completing procedures for investment or in bidding resulted in a low rate of disbursement.

To increase the disbursement of ODA public investment capital in localities, Hai suggested that the Ministry of Planning and Investment soon issue instructions for localities and agencies to make suggestion to the ministry regarding the adjustment of ODA capital plan for 2021.

The MoT will coordinate with other ministries in scrutinising procedures for adjusting agreements with donors, while shortening time for relevant procedures./.