Nghe An proposes to allow extending the central budget capital from 2022 to 2023

On the afternoon of April 13, the Prime Minister's Working Group No. 2, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, had a direct and online working session with provinces and cities to inspect, urge, remove difficulties and obstacles, and promote disbursement of public investment capital in 2023.

Panoramic view of Nghe An province bridge. Photo: Pham Bang

NGHE AN DISBURSEMENT IS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

Working Group No. 2, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, was assigned to inspect ministries, agencies and 13 localities: Hanoi City, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang City, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the total state budget investment plan for 2023 assigned by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister to 13 localities is more than VND 129,478 billion. As of April 10, the total disbursed capital of 13 localities was more than VND 13,803 billion, reaching 10.66%, higher than the national average of 10.35%.

Of these, 6 localities: Thua Thien Hue, Nghe An, Quang Ngai, Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, Binh Dinh have disbursement rates higher than the national average. The remaining 7 localities have disbursement rates lower than the national average.

Representatives of departments and branches of Nghe An province attended the meeting. Photo: Pham Bang

The common difficulties and problems of localities today are the authority to decide on extending the time to allocate capital for projects under the authority of district and commune budget decisions; difficulties in site clearance; regulations on preparing environmental impact assessment reports leading to prolonged implementation time; difficulties in implementing public investment projects using capital sources collected from land use; some jobs have multi-step, lengthy procedures...

According to local leaders, the reason is that the auction and bidding for land use rights have encountered many difficulties, affecting local budget revenue; the implementation of projects in the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program and the National Target Program is still confusing, and investment procedures are prolonged. In addition, project preparation is slow, the quality is not high; the capacity and qualifications of some officials do not meet the requirements.

For Nghe An province, the 2023 State budget investment plan assigned by the Prime Minister is more than VND 9,033 billion. Up to now, more than VND 8,841 billion has been allocated in detail, reaching 97.88%. As of April 10, the total disbursed capital is more than VND 1,194 billion, reaching 13.22%; of which, the central budget source reaches 9.17%; the local budget source reaches 16.39%.

Representatives of departments and branches of Nghe An province attended the meeting. Photo by Pham Bang

PROPOSAL OF MANY ISSUES TO RESOLVE DIFFICULTIES FOR LOCALITIES

Reporting more specifically on difficulties and obstacles in the area, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment to promptly synthesize and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to allow extending the central budget capital from 2022 to 2023 so that localities can promptly implement and disburse in 2023.

In addition, it is recommended that ministries promptly synthesize and submit to the Prime Minister for permission to adjust the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period. On that basis, it is possible to adjust capital for projects with difficulties in implementation to allocate to new projects of the province that are capable of disbursement.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung speaks at the meeting. Photo: Pham Bang

Regarding the implementation of the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program, according to the provisions of Resolution 43 of the National Assembly, it must be completed and disbursed within 2 years (2022-2023). However, in reality, it was not until early 2023 that the program was allocated capital for implementation.

Therefore, Nghe An province requests ministries and branches to soon issue guiding documents, allowing flexible capital adjustment between the Socio-Economic Development Recovery Program and the Medium-Term Public Investment Plan for the 2021-2025 period so that localities can implement and disburse all assigned capital plans.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that disbursement of public investment capital is an important political task, a solution to promote economic development; and an indicator to evaluate the leadership and management capacity of localities. Localities have shown determination and confidence that disbursement of public investment capital will reach at least 95% by the fourth quarter of 2023.

The construction unit is concentrating machinery and human resources to speed up the progress of the Coastal Road Project from Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) to Cua Lo town (Nghe An). Photo: Pham Bang

Delving into the issues raised by localities, the Deputy Prime Minister requested localities to pay attention to and prioritize human resources to focus on site clearance and resettlement in accordance with regulations; complete the work of establishing the Provincial Planning on schedule; and improve the quality of land valuation in accordance with regulations.

For ministries and branches, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned specific tasks and progress in resolving difficulties and problems of localities; reviewed and promptly proposed solutions to remove administrative and legal obstacles to speed up the progress of disbursement of public investment capital according to the set plan./.