The Ministry of Finance requires drastic removal of bottlenecks and promotion of ODA capital disbursement.

(Chinhphu.vn) - With the goal of disbursing 100% of the public investment capital plan in 2025, the Ministry of Finance requested ministries, branches and localities to speed up, thoroughly handle bottlenecks and accelerate disbursement progress, especially for projects using ODA capital.

Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong speaks at the Conference - Photo: VGP/HT

Promoting disbursement - key task of the pivotal year

On the afternoon of October 15, the Ministry of Finance held a conference with ministries, branches and localities to assess the disbursement of foreign capital public investment capital in 2025.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong emphasized: 2025 is a pivotal year, of utmost importance in completing the goals of the medium-term public investment plan, while contributing to promoting economic growth to over 8%.

According to Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong, the total public investment capital this year is set to be very high, in which ODA capital accounts for a significant proportion and plays a particularly important role. Accelerating the disbursement of this capital source not only ensures project progress but also creates a driving force that spreads to the entire economy. However, the disbursement situation from the beginning of the year until now, although it has improved compared to the same period, has not yet met the requirements.

The Government and the Prime Minister have issued many resolutions and dispatches with strong instructions; the Ministry of Finance regularly urges, supervises and guides the removal of difficulties. However, the results are still limited, showing that the "existing symptoms" have not been thoroughly addressed.

Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong requested ministries, branches, and localities, especially units with large amounts of ODA capital, to review and clearly assess the causes, not just stopping at stating common difficulties such as site clearance or investment procedures, but need to answer "why the site clearance is not possible, why the problems have lasted for many years and have not been resolved, we must dare to do, dare to take responsibility to create real changes," Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong emphasized.

Mr. Vu Hoang Nam - Deputy Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance shares information - Photo: VGP/HT

Identify problems – Focus on practical action

Reporting at the conference, Mr. Vu Hoang Nam - Deputy Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance - said that the Ministry of Finance has implemented a series of measures to speed up the disbursement of domestic capital and foreign loans, especially in the context that localities are operating a two-level government model.

As of October 14, the disbursement rate of public investment capital from foreign sources had only reached 18.68%, equivalent to VND 4,373 billion. It is estimated that by the end of October, this rate will only be about 20% of the plan - much lower than the same period (30.6% in 2024; 38.1% in 2023).

Of the total 108 projects and sub-projects assigned capital plans, only 72 have been disbursed; the remaining 36 projects have not been disbursed, of which 12 projects have not yet taken effect or have not signed loan agreements. Some projects have just signed loan agreements but have not yet completed legal procedures.

For the 2024 capital plan extended to 2025, the disbursement rate only reached 5.89%. Of which, ministries and branches reached 3%, localities reached 15.02%.

The main reason, according to Mr. Vu Hoang Nam, is that many projects do not have completed volume to disburse, or are adjusting policies, loan agreements, and capital plans; some are slow to receive non-objection opinions from donors, or new procedures arise after merging administrative units.

In addition, extreme weather, storms, floods and landslides also caused construction to be interrupted in many localities.

In this situation, the Ministry of Finance will continue to closely coordinate with ministries, branches, localities and donors to promptly remove obstacles; quickly control expenditures as soon as complete documents are available; and at the same time propose solutions to the Government to ensure the completion of the target of disbursing 100% of the public investment capital plan in 2025.

At the conference, many localities such as Dong Nai, Hung Yen, Tay Ninh, Lai Chau, Ha Tinh... reported on the progress of implementation and proposed recommendations for solutions.

Dong Nai has slow disbursement of ODA capital due to incomplete loan agreement procedures with foreign partners. The province is committed to completing the disbursement plan before the year-end summary, and at the same time, it has requested the Central Government to support the acceleration of approval of international loan agreements.

Hung Yen province cited difficulties in the appraisal and selection of international consultants for ecological infrastructure projects. Due to high technical requirements, the document approval process is prolonged, affecting progress. The management board is completing procedures and at the same time proposing to adjust the capital structure to suit the reality.

Tay Ninh province has achieved positive results but is still slow in site clearance. Some areas have not been handed over, affecting the progress of urban wastewater treatment projects. The locality has proposed to adjust the ODA capital plan, transferring a part to 2026 to ensure progress and effective use of capital.

In addition, many localities have asked the Ministry of Finance to support the removal of international agreement procedures and ODA capital disbursement mechanisms to ensure the progress and efficiency of public investment.

Conference with ministries, branches and localities to assess the disbursement of foreign capital public investment capital in 2025 - Photo: VGP/HT

Concluding the conference, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong affirmed: The current key and urgent task is to promote disbursement, especially with ODA capital. Ministries, branches and localities have made great efforts, however, the results are not uniform; there are still units with low disbursement, and even some projects have not had their files updated by the Treasury due to late submission of documents.

Furthermore, besides traditional causes such as site clearance or project management capacity, there are also problems in procedures for adjusting loan agreements, capital plans, etc.

At the same time, the Deputy Minister noted that units need to proactively handle domestic procedures, because the law has strongly decentralized. "Anything within the authority must be done immediately, there can be no excuse for delayed approval," said Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong.

Regarding central-level procedures, especially related to loan agreements, the Ministry of Finance acknowledges the local proposals and will promptly review, respond, and immediately implement the contents within its authority. Therefore, localities need to proactively coordinate closely with the Ministry's units to speed up progress.

First of all, the Ministry of Finance will also continue to work with donors to simplify the process. "If the procedures are too complicated, localities may no longer be interested in loans. We have recommended that donors reduce unnecessary steps to ensure implementation," said Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong.

On the other hand, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong noted that the planning of public investment in 2026 must be close to reality, avoiding the situation of "requesting a large plan and then having to adjust it down", reducing the budget is a complicated procedure, may have to be submitted to the National Assembly, causing delays and affecting the reputation of the unit.

"You need to measure your strength before doing anything. Projects that are not feasible should not be registered. Planning must be accurate, ensuring balance and appropriateness to implementation capacity," the leader of the Ministry of Finance noted.

The Ministry of Finance also sent Document 15929 dated October 14 announcing the expected state budget investment plan for 2026, requesting ministries, branches and localities to carefully review the ability to complete ODA project procedures.

Therefore, 2026 is expected to be the period when the two-level local government system operates stably, domestic procedures are simplified, and the capital withdrawal process at the Ministry of Finance is significantly shortened. "There is no longer any reason for delay in implementation and disbursement. The Ministry of Finance will continue to organize conferences, seminars, and training courses to disseminate and thoroughly understand new regulations, support localities in the management and disbursement of ODA capital, and at the same time study a separate fund model to receive and disburse ODA loans, ensuring progress and transparency for donors," said Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong.

Mr. Minh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/bo-tai-chinh-yeu-cau-quyet-liet-thao-go-diem-nghen-day-manh-giai-ngan-von-oda-102251015192745972.htm