Nghe An still owes 42 billion VND for rural development projects.

Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, began constructing a secondary school in early 2018, using funds provided by the government. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of mid-September 2016, Nghe An province still had outstanding debts for basic construction projects under the National Target Program for New Rural Development amounting to 751 billion VND. The majority of these debts were incurred by localities that had built rural infrastructure to support the program but lacked the necessary funds for payment.

Thanks to the efforts of the province and local authorities in debt resolution, by August 2018, the outstanding debt for rural development projects in the province had decreased to nearly 42 billion VND. Specifically, the central government's allocated funds for the 2018 program prioritized debt repayment by localities, totaling over 176 billion VND.

However, according to the Provincial Rural Development Program Coordination Office, the figure of 42 billion VND in outstanding debt is a summary report from local authorities. To obtain a more accurate figure for outstanding debt, starting August 15th, the Provincial Rural Development Program Coordination Office will coordinate with relevant departments and visit local areas to review outstanding projects and gather more specific data.

With cement support from the province, localities are actively investing in building rural roads. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Hoang Nghia Hieu, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Chief of the Provincial National Target Program Coordination Office for New Rural Development, stated that: In the coming time, to limit the backlog of debt, localities need to have planning and construction projects that closely match the specific conditions of the locality before implementing the New Rural Development program.

Accordingly, localities need to develop medium-term infrastructure development plans, prioritizing the repayment of debts for completed projects. For new construction projects, it is necessary to balance financial resources to ensure payment after project completion. However, according to regulations, all localities constructing new projects must submit their financial plans to the Provincial New Rural Development Coordination Office and the Departments of Finance and Planning and Investment for approval before construction can begin.

Following the provincial directive, Nghe An province is expected to completely resolve outstanding debts in rural development construction by the end of 2018.

Xuan Hoang