Ho Chi Minh City determined to disburse funds and stabilize the apparatus

The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee requested departments, branches and localities to immediately make a list of public investment projects in 2026.

Ho Chi Minh City is accelerating the disbursement of public investment capital, while simultaneously consolidating and stabilizing the administrative apparatus after the merger, creating a foundation to promote economic growth and improve the quality of services for the people.

On August 9th, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee held a regular meeting on the socio-economic situation in July and the first seven months of 2025; and to implement key tasks and solutions for August. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Nguyen Van Duoc.

Proposed model: "1 center - 3 regions - 1 special zone"

Reporting on the city's socio-economic situation in the first seven months of the year, Mr. Nguyen Cong Vinh, Director of the Department of Finance, stated that total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue are estimated at over 1 trillion VND, an increase of 15.5% compared to the same period in 2024. The cumulative industrial production index for the first seven months is estimated to have increased by nearly 6% compared to the same period. The Department of Finance assessed that the industrial sector experienced significant growth in July, demonstrating positive recovery and development amidst global economic fluctuations.

Total state budget revenue in the first seven months of the year was 472,588 billion VND, reaching over 70% of the projected target. As of July 31st, disbursement of public investment capital reached 47,577 billion VND, achieving 40% of the capital plan assigned by the Prime Minister .

Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Development Research Institute, noted that the socio-economic situation in July showed some positive signs, creating enthusiasm among the business community amidst many fluctuations in the world and the region. However, the ability to absorb capital is a matter that Ho Chi Minh City needs to pay special attention to after merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau . Therefore, Dr. Vu proposed the concept of "1 center - 3 regions - 1 special zone". Specifically, while concentrating policy-making in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, development should extend to all three former regions of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau; continuing and consolidating projects and programs of the localities. Because any interruption in this process would disrupt the flow of money, projects, and the entire plan for "1 center - 3 regions - 1 special zone".

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc delivered a speech at the conference.

The meeting also discussed the operation of the two-tiered local government model. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, Director of the Department of Justice, said that given the situation where ward and commune leaders sign too many administrative procedures in the field of justice and civil registration, the department proposed delegating authority directly to civil servants. This requires a resolution from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council specifying the scope, tasks, and powers that the chairpersons of ward and commune People's Committees can delegate to civil servants. The Department of Justice has drafted the relevant contents and may submit them to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council meeting this August.

Regarding the acceptance of non-geographical administrative procedures, the Chief of the Office of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, Duong Hong Thang, said that from August 1st, the Ho Chi Minh City Public Administrative Service Center (PVHCC) has deployed 38 local teams to 38 commune-level PVHCC centers; organizing 5 counters in each locality to receive 2,168 administrative procedures from departments, agencies, and localities. The Ho Chi Minh City PVHCC Center is currently forming its organizational structure and is expected to launch in September. With the Ho Chi Minh City PVHCC Center and the two regional PVHCC centers in Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, along with the 38 local teams, Ho Chi Minh City has a total of 41 non-geographical administrative procedure acceptance points.

Focus all resources on driving growth.

Concluding the meeting, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc acknowledged that the city's socio-economic development has achieved many important and comprehensive results in various fields. Notably, economic growth in the first seven months reached 7.56%; foreign investment attracted nearly US$6.2 billion, a 45.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, city leaders and departments have welcomed many investors and large economic groups seeking investment opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City. This shows that the city's investment environment is showing very positive signs.

According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, in order to achieve the 8.5% growth target set by the Central Government for 2025, the city must achieve a growth rate of 10.3% in the remaining months. To achieve this goal, the city must focus all resources on boosting growth. This includes accelerating the disbursement of public investment capital, aiming for 70% disbursement in the third quarter and 100% in the fourth quarter. Wards and communes must focus on land clearance to expedite project progress.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City requested that all departments, agencies, and localities immediately compile a list of public investment projects for 2026 and submit it to the Department of Finance before August 31st. The Department of Finance will then compile and review the list to determine which projects should be prioritized, focusing on key areas, especially those already under investment. All documentation must be completed before December 31st, 2025, so that projects can be implemented immediately upon allocation of funds from the central government.

Simultaneously, the restructuring of the administrative apparatus continues. The Department of Internal Affairs is urgently completing policies for redundant officials and civil servants resulting from the restructuring so that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee can soon submit them to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council for approval, resolving the entitlements for officials and civil servants before August 31st. "This cannot be delayed," the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee emphasized; at the same time, he requested the directors of departments and agencies to reorganize their staff, including leading officials, especially in departments with a large number of personnel such as Construction, Agriculture and Environment… For officials and civil servants, departments should proactively arrange their positions, possibly seconding them to grassroots levels; for management-level positions, they should report to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.

Removing obstacles for 86 projects

According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the Special Task Force, chaired by the Vice Chairmen of the City People's Committee, is stepping up its activities to definitively resolve outstanding issues. In July, the Task Force met and reached conclusions on several specific projects, notably: the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City complex project by Lotte Properties HCMC Co., Ltd.; projects by Sunshine Group Joint Stock Company; and the project at land plots 117-119-121 Nguyen Hue by the Vietnam Investment and Development Bank (BIDV).

In addition, city leaders have been decisively directing and urging the disbursement of public investment capital, requiring strict application of the "6 clear" mechanism in inspecting and evaluating the effectiveness of working groups and steering committees. To date, the city has resolved obstacles for 86 projects with a total value of over 420,000 billion VND and a total area of ​​approximately 1,200 hectares.

Source: https://ttbc-hcm.gov.vn/tp-hcm-quyet-liet-giai-ngan-on-dinh-bo-may-1019322.html