Nghe An 'accelerates' disbursement of public investment funds.

Despite having a higher-than-average disbursement rate nationwide, Nghe An still faces many difficulties and obstacles in disbursing public investment capital. To achieve the 95-100% disbursement target, all levels and sectors must concentrate their efforts and strive to overcome the identified difficulties, accelerating even faster in the remaining time of 2023.

Decisive and decisive from the beginning of the year.

Effective disbursement of public investment capital will contribute to socio-economic recovery and development, promote growth, and create jobs for workers. Therefore, the Government has identified the disbursement of public investment capital as a top priority political task for all levels and sectors in 2023. "Public investment is both a driving force and a resource for development. We have saved up capital, so investment must be effective, preventing corruption, negative practices, and waste. We must avoid investing and then squandering resources, which would require review and handling," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized.Conference to accelerate the disbursement of public investment funds.in February 2023.

On the morning of February 21st, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a nationwide online conference on urging the acceleration of the allocation and disbursement of public investment capital in 2023 and the implementation of the socio-economic recovery and development program. Photo: Duong Giang - VNA

Recognizing the importance of disbursing public investment funds, immediately after receiving the allocation from the Prime Minister, Nghe An province organized a detailed allocation process. To date, the basic allocated funds amount to 8,842 billion VND out of a planned 9,033.5 billion VND, reaching 97.88%. According to Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung, with the goal of disbursing 95-100% of the allocated plan, the Provincial People's Committee has established a working group headed by Vice Chairman Bui Thanh An to strengthen on-site inspections and promptly address shortcomings and inadequacies in the disbursement of public investment funds.

On the other hand, clearly assign responsibilities to each leader of the Provincial People's Committee to directly oversee and direct the disbursement of funds for projects; require project owners to register monthly disbursement plans for each project; and provide disbursement results to the Party Committee, the Party Secretary, and the Chairman of the People's Committee of each district every 10 days for timely guidance and supervision.

These decisive and strong measures have helped the province's public investment disbursement results exceed the national average. Mr. Pham Hong Quang, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, stated that as of April 10th, the province had disbursed 1,194 billion VND, reaching 13.22%, higher than the national average of 10.35%. Of this, central government budget funds (domestic capital) disbursed 244 billion VND out of a planned 1,736 billion VND, reaching 14.06%.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung inspects the progress of the Coastal Road Project. Photo: Pham Bang.

SourceNational Target Program103 billion VND out of a planned 1,180 billion VND has been disbursed, reaching 8.73%. Regarding the three key provincial-level projects in the Transport sector, the coastal road from Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) to Cua Lo (Nghe An), specifically the section from Km7 to Km76, the Vinh-Cua Lo connecting road (phase 2), and the road connecting National Highway 7C (Do Luong) to the Ho Chi Minh Highway (Tan Ky) have all committed to exceeding the schedule by 12-18 months.

Following the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, all sectors and levels are actively implementing solutions to accelerate disbursement. The leaders of Hung Nguyen District People's Committee stated that the district is focusing on directing and urging investors and contractors to speed up the construction progress of projects allocated capital this year.

Specifically, six medium-term public investment projects for the 2021-2025 period aim for 100% disbursement in 2023; these are: the Project for Preserving and Promoting the Value of Soviet-era Historical Sites in Nghe Tinh; the road connecting National Highway 46 with Road 542B in Hung Thinh commune and Le Xuan Dao road in Hung Thong commune; the road connecting National Highway 46A with Road 542C through Hung Dao commune; the project for repairing and upgrading the Le Xuan Dao irrigation canal; the headquarters of the District Party Committee - People's Council - People's Committee; and the road leading to the Industrial Zone in Hung Yen Nam commune.

The Soviet-Nghe Tinh Monument and Reliefs, part of the project to preserve and promote the values ​​of the Soviet-Nghe Tinh movement, are currently being completed. Photo: Mai Hoa

Increase accountability, tighten discipline.

2023 is the third and pivotal year in the implementation of the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress and the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council on the five-year socio-economic development plan and the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2021-2025. Therefore, the Provincial People's Committee requests that provincial departments, agencies, and districts, cities, and towns clearly assign unit leaders to be in charge of each project. The disbursement results of each project will serve as the basis for evaluating the level of task completion for each individual and unit.

While the disbursement rate is higher than the national average, the disbursement of public investment capital in the province is facing many difficulties. Many localities report that the legal procedures for new projects take a long time, and the first few months of 2023 are focused on completing advance payments. Land clearance work is also fraught with obstacles and takes a long time. The Provincial People's Committee assesses that the subjective reasons are due to limitations in investment preparation. Some sectors and some investors have not been truly decisive in leading, directing, and implementing the disbursement of public investment capital. In land clearance work, many localities have not been proactive and have not followed the principle of "land clearance precedes other tasks."

Construction work is underway on the N5 cross-road project in the Southeast Economic Zone. Photo: PB

Despite facing many difficulties, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung affirmed that Nghe An is committed to seriously and decisively implementing tasks and solutions, proactively overcoming difficulties and obstacles to focus on directing and accelerating the progress of projects, striving to achieve the 2023 disbursement target of 95-100% as directed by the Government.

To achieve the above objectives, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that all sectors and localities, especially their leaders, pay more attention, with the participation of Party committees, assign specific tasks, and clearly define responsibilities regarding timelines and results. Localities must strictly manage procedures, ensuring compliance with regulations while meeting deadlines, and refrain from proposing or adding new projects until the requirements of existing projects are met.

Land clearance for key projects in Do Luong district. Photo: Nhat Lan

In addition to the province's solutions, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung also requested the Central Government to allow the extension of central government budget funds from 2022 to 2023 to ensure timely implementation and disbursement within 2023. Furthermore, he proposed that the Prime Minister soon allow adjustments to the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period to reallocate funds from projects that are difficult to implement and to new projects with the potential for disbursement. On the other hand, ministries should also promptly issue guidelines allowing for flexible allocation of funds between the Recovery Program and the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period so that localities can implement and disburse all allocated funds.