Ministry of Finance urges disbursement of public investment capital from foreign loans
(Baonghean.vn) - Continuing to urge the disbursement of public investment from foreign loans, on the morning of December 1, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Finance held a national online meeting on the progress of public investment disbursement of foreign program and project loans in 2022.
The conference was chaired from Hanoi by Deputy Minister of Finance Vo Thanh Hung. Also attending were representatives of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance, the State Treasury, 13 ministries, branches and representatives of 61 provinces and cities nationwide.
Chairing from Nghe An bridge point are representatives of the Department of Planning and Investment and representatives of relevant departments and branches.
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Deputy Minister of Finance Vo Thanh Hung and leaders of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance chaired the conference from Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
At the conference, Deputy Minister of Finance Vo Thanh Hung said: In 2022, despite the continuous urging of the Government and the Prime Minister and the efforts of relevant ministries and branches, the situationpublic investment disbursementIn general, and in particular, the disbursement of public investment capital from foreign loans is still facing many difficulties and low progress. This reality leads to the waste of investment capital, the slow progress of implementing works and projects, and facing legal disputes on the management of public debt from foreign loans.
Accordingly, after 11 months, based on the plan assigned at the beginning of the year, the foreign public investment capital borrowed was VND 34,800 billion, then the Prime Minister adjusted it down by VND 424 billion. By November 30, the total planned sources, the whole country had disbursed 20.06%, of which ministries and branches disbursed 34.2%, localities 32.14%, 6-7% lower than the same period in 2021; if including the source from 2021 transferred to 2022 and the source re-borrowed from the Government's foreign loans, the disbursement rate is even lower.
The conference is an opportunity for representatives of ministries, branches and localities to report on disbursement progress in their localities; at the same time, state the reasons for slow disbursement progress and solutions.
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Representatives of the Department of Planning and Investment and provincial departments and branches followed the conference from Nghe An bridge. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
For Nghe An, according to the ODA capital plan for 2022 assigned by the Central Government,enter Tabmisis 482.14 billion VND; capital extended from the 2021 plan to 2022, 3 projects with a total amount of 53.7 billion VND; capital re-borrowed from the Government's foreign loan source in 2022 of the province is 219.9 billion VND, by November 30, the Department of Finance imported 135.07 billion VND of Tabmis, reaching 61.42%.
By the end of November 2022, the province had disbursed VND 93,726 billion, reaching 19.44% of the assigned plan. Of the 8 projects assigned with detailed foreign capital, 1 project had disbursed over 90%, 1 project had disbursed over 30%, 3 projects had disbursed less than 10% and 3 projects had not yet disbursed because they had just started construction and were implementing procedures to recruit international consultants for support, evaluating the results of selecting construction contractors and were doing procedures to extend the loan agreement. Regarding the disbursement of foreign loans in 2021 extending to 2022, by November 30, 3/53.7 billion VND had been disbursed, reaching 5.59%. Of which, 1/3 of the projects had disbursed 100%, 2 projects had not yet disbursed due to problems with procedures for using surplus capital; Disbursed 21,973/135,071 billion VND of re-borrowed capital from the Government's foreign loans, reaching 16.27%.
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The Quan Hanh Town Urban Infrastructure Upgrade Project (Nghi Loc) after 3 years of not receiving funding, has been funded since the end of 2022 so construction will resume. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
Previously, based on the review of progress and disbursement capacity, on September 16, 2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch 7071/UBND-KT to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to submit to competent authorities to adjust and reduce the foreign capital plan from the central budget in 2022 by 160.8 billion VND, meaning that the total foreign capital plan in 2022 of the province is only 321,333 billion VND.
Like other provinces, Nghe An's foreign loan disbursement rate is low because the procedures for implementing ODA capital programs are quite complicated; some projects are in the process of bidding and site clearance for resettlement, so construction and installation have not yet been implemented; prices of construction materials and input materials fluctuate, causing difficulties for contractors in construction.
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The embankment project along Thai River, Quynh Hung Commune (Quynh Luu) was upgraded with ODA foreign loans and has shown good efficiency, so capital will continue to be allocated to implement a new package from the end of 2022. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
At the conference, Nghe An province proposed that the Government soon issue a Decree amending Decree 114/2021 on management and use of official development assistance capital; recommend that ministries and branches continue to consult with donors on reviewing processes and procedures to better harmonize donor regulations and domestic regulations; shorten the time and further accelerate the progress of reviewing and giving opinions on bidding and resettlement compensation; for specific component projects in the province, it is recommended that the managing Ministry and the Central Project Management Board continue to pay attention and direct the implementation of work and bidding to ensure the set progress.
Concluding the conference, on the basis of receiving recommendations and proposals from ministries, branches and localities, the representative of the Ministry of Finance also shared difficulties and obstacles; at the same time, requested that in the remaining 1 month, ministries, branches and localities also make great efforts and determination to disburse 50% of the capital plan assigned in 2022./.