Payment of capital for basic construction investment: Need to be timely and complete

We were present at the construction site of the new administrative center of Ba Giang commune (Ba To), invested by the People's Committee of Ba To district. This project has a total investment of 132 billion VND, divided into two phases. It has been completed, put into use, and the project settlement file has been prepared. However, the total unpaid amount of the project is 12 billion VND. According to the investor's explanation, this 12 billion VND part is the responsibility of the Ba To district budget, but there is currently no source so it cannot be arranged to pay the debt. In Ba To district, there is currently the Ba Bich - Ba Le - Ba Nam Road project, with a total investment of 158 billion VND, of which the provincial budget is 120 billion VND; the district budget is 38 billion VND. According to the plan, the project will be completed in October 2025, but the district budget of 38 billion VND has not yet found a source to arrange for the project. In Nghia Hanh district, a contractor filed a lawsuit against the investor because the construction of the Cho Chua town People's Committee headquarters was finalized 3 years ago, and the contractor still owed 4 billion VND in unpaid debt.

Báo Quảng Ngãi•02/03/2025

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - 2025 is the final year of implementing the 2021-2025 medium-term investment plan. However, many localities have not yet balanced their budgets to repay debts and allocate enough capital for ongoing projects, due to uncertain local revenue sources.

According to statistics, each year, the budget of 13 districts, towns and cities allocates about 1,500 billion VND for public investment. Compared to the requirements for completing and upgrading infrastructure, this resource is still limited. However, compared to the budget revenue in localities, completing the task of public investment expenditure is a difficult problem. Therefore, many projects and localities must apply for implementation under the mechanism of "provincial capital together with district capital" in public investment. Most large-scale public investment projects and works with large total investment are implemented under this mechanism. For example, traffic bridge projects, including Hanh Tin Tay bridge, Hanh Phuoc bridge (Nghia Hanh); Thach An bridge (Binh Son); DH83 road project (Son Tay), Ba Bich - Ba Le - Ba Nam road (Ba To); embankment road - new hamlet (Minh Long)... Currently, some projects have been completed, some projects are under construction and are planned to be completed in 2025. However, most of these projects are facing difficulties in arranging capital to repay debts (for projects that have been settled), arranging capital to pay for volume (for projects under construction).

The new Administrative Center of Ba Giang Commune (Ba To) has been put into use, but there has not been enough funding. Photo: T.NHI

Recently, the Provincial Inspectorate has conducted inspections on compliance with the law on outstanding debts in basic construction, collection of advance payments, and settlement of construction works in some districts of Tra Bong, Son Tinh, Ly Son, Binh Son, and Son Tinh. The inspection conclusions pointed out a number of errors and required corrections, especially the requirement to arrange capital to completely pay off outstanding debts in basic construction. However, in 2025, the arrangement of payments also encountered some difficulties because localities did not have the resources...

As of now, there are only 10 months left until the 2021-2025 medium-term investment period ends. Therefore, balancing local resources, arranging payment, and repaying debts for construction works is necessary, ensuring compliance with legal regulations on public investment. However, budget revenue does not arise in large amounts, while the total budget to balance payment and debt repayment of many localities is quite large. This means that public investment debts of this period will continue to be extended to the 2026-2030 medium-term investment period.

THANH NHI

Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/kinh-te/202503/thanh-toan-von-dau-tu-xay-dung-co-ban-can-kip-thoi-day-du-9863bfa/