HANOI: Measures should be taken to address a number of shortcomings and limitations in public investment and public projects, say deputies during the ongoing Vietnam National Assembly (NA) meeting in the capital.
Deputies voiced their concerns over poor planning and preparation, which have resulted in bottlenecks slowing down the disbursement of public funds.
Deputy Trieu Quang Huy from the northern province of Lang Son said a major contributor to many projects’ sluggish progress was inadequate preparation, which in turn led to a large amount of capital unutilised.
He said while the disbursement rate for public projects during the first nine months of the year had improved in comparison to the same period last year, it had yet to reach the target set by the NA.
Huy said such delays had a negative effect on the country’s public investment funds and called for greater efforts by the relevant ministries to speed up progress, particularly in introducing a clear legal framework.
“Regarding the authority to approve adjustments to official development assistance (ODA) projects, some details have not been clearly stipulated in the Public Investment Law and current regulations, causing difficulties for localities to review the implementation of investment procedures,” Huy said.
In addition, he urged the government to quickly address problems related to land use conversion, and annual investment allocation, and to issue clear guidance for the projects’ implementation phases.
Deputy Tran Van Tien from the northern Vinh Phuc Province, said poor planning often resulted in numerous changes required during the implementation phase, which caused delays to key socioeconomic development projects.
“In some cases, funding had to be returned to the state budget because government agencies and local authorities failed to allocate the funds,” he said.
“While many projects have been delayed due to a lack of capital, we are sitting on 6.5% of unutilised funds,” he added.
Deputy Le Huu Tri from the central province of Khanh Hoa said there was a need to identify the causes behind the slow disbursement of funds at public projects, many of them key infrastructure projects that are crucial to national and regional development.
“Public investment funds need to be used for their intended purpose, achieve effectiveness and not be exploited for personal gain,” Tri said.
The deputies called for greater focus on improving the efficiency of public projects with key priorities being a coherent strategy for developing crucial infrastructure.
Theses include highways, and coastal and interregional roads to bolster regional connectivity, especially in the country’s central and southwest regions.
In addition, they urged the government to implement policies that encourage and include the private sector in nation-building.
They stressed the importance of an effective Public-Private Partnerships model, which could play a key role in building Vietnam’s infrastructure. — Viet Nam News/ANN
