Using public investment as a "lever" for growth.

The province's economic growth efforts are facing a major challenge as the disbursement rate of public investment capital in the first few months of the year has not met expectations. To achieve double-digit growth targets, the Provincial People's Committee has just issued a decisive directive, requiring departments, agencies, and localities to focus on removing bottlenecks and accelerating the flow of capital into economic development.

Pressure from the disbursement process

Despite close guidance and numerous directives issued by the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee since the beginning of the year, the province's public investment disbursement rate only reached 14.33% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister by early May. Notably, two provincial-level units and nine localities have yet to disburse their allocated capital. Among the units with low disbursement rates are important agencies and a number of communes and wards in key areas such as Hoa Thang Ward, Tay Ninh Hoa Commune, Cam Hiep Commune, Xuan Hai Commune, and Vinh Hai Commune. This delay at the grassroots level is creating a chain reaction, directly affecting the overall progress of the entire province.

Construction of the Van Luong - Ninh Hoa coastal road is underway.

Explaining this situation, the Provincial People's Committee pointed out that subjective factors are the main cause. Accordingly, administrative discipline and order have sometimes been lax in some places. Leadership and direction in the implementation of projects in some localities have lacked decisiveness, depth, and the role of the head of the organization has not been effectively utilized. In addition, the preparation of investment projects has been superficial, leading to the paradoxical situation: Projects have capital but lack the legal conditions for disbursement.

Construction of an underpass at the Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot Expressway Project.

Mr. Chau Ngo Anh Nhan, Director of the Department of Finance, stated that the Provincial People's Committee has issued a directive on the implementation of the 2026 public investment disbursement plan, outlining solutions to strive for 100% disbursement of the capital plan assigned by the Prime Minister . Simultaneously, relevant agencies have issued numerous directives and urged investors to find solutions to overcome difficulties within their authority and accelerate disbursement progress. However, the cumulative disbursement rate of public investment capital from the beginning of the year to date remains low. The main reasons are slow land clearance; the current difficulty in obtaining earth fill materials for project construction, and the inability of local mineral mines to ensure sufficient supply for the project. In addition, delays in procedures and payments; and the weak organizational capacity of some contractors and units are also contributing factors to the disbursement rate not meeting expectations.

Strengthen discipline and individualize responsibility.

To achieve the goal of disbursing 100% of the planned capital for 2026, the Provincial People's Committee has identified the disbursement of public investment capital as a top priority political task. This is also a key criterion for evaluating and ranking the quality of collectives and individuals at the end of the year. In the aforementioned document, Mr. Tran Hoa Nam - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - directed agencies and units to specifically assign leaders and officials to be in charge of each project to individualize responsibility. Units must develop detailed progress plans by week, month, and quarter to strengthen supervision, inspection, and monitoring. Projects that are behind schedule or unlikely to disburse funds will be considered for reallocation of capital to projects with good progress and a need for additional funding. At a recent meeting with departments, agencies, and localities on the disbursement of public investment funds, Comrade Tran Hoa Nam emphasized: “It is necessary to promptly commend and reward organizations and individuals who achieve good results; at the same time, we must strictly punish investors and project management boards that cause difficulties, obstacles, or lack responsibility, thus slowing down progress. The provincial leadership's stance is very clear: We are determined to replace officials and civil servants who are incompetent or who engage in harassment and corruption during project implementation.”

The Khánh Hòa - Buôn Ma Thuột expressway is nearing completion.

Furthermore, for key projects such as the Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 Nuclear Power Plants, relevant departments and agencies must urgently survey construction materials such as soil, stone, and sand to ensure construction progress. The Provincial People's Committee requests that investors urgently complete procedures, especially for projects in the fields of education, science, technology, digital transformation, and flood damage remediation. Cases where allocated funds are not fully utilized must report the reasons clearly before May 15, 2026. The Department of Finance is responsible for closely monitoring and advising on the flexible reallocation of funds between units. Departments and agencies, according to their functions and duties, need to continuously review mechanisms, policies, and laws to promptly amend, supplement, or propose solutions to competent authorities to address obstacles.

Accelerating the disbursement of public investment capital during this period is crucial for the local economy. A rapid flow of public funds will stimulate other social resources, creating a strong impetus to bring the province's growth to double digits as targeted. The time pressure from now until the end of the year is immense, requiring coordinated efforts and high determination from the province down to the communes and wards.

DINH LAM

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/202605/lay-dau-tu-cong-lam-don-baytang-truong-d3360bc/