During a public investment conference on 24/4, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung urged ministers, heads of sectors, and local leaders to "seriously review progress and quality of public investment disbursement for immediate improvement."

The Prime Minister commended seven ministries, agencies, and 16 localities that achieved disbursement rates higher than the national average. Conversely, he criticized 28 ministries, agencies, and 18 localities for disbursing below this average.

Public investment remains spread thin, with weak investment preparation, cumbersome procedures, slow allocation, delayed site clearance, and insufficient material supply, the Prime Minister noted. Additionally, coordination among agencies lacks synchronization, and the role of leaders has not been fully leveraged.

"Slow disbursement and unspent capital have become a persistent issue, requiring strong measures to address," he stated.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung speaking at the conference on 24/4. Photo: VGP

Investment is a crucial growth driver, with public investment playing a leading role in attracting private and foreign direct investment (FDI), thereby stimulating production and business. This capital contributes to increasing total social investment, supporting rapid and sustainable growth. Calculations show that for the 2021-2025 period, a 1% increase in public investment disbursement could add 0,058 percentage points to GDP.

According to the Prime Minister, slow disbursement is largely due to subjective reasons; some ministries and localities perform well under the same legal framework, while others lag. Some ministries, agencies, and localities fail to adequately monitor and address delayed projects, even displaying a mentality of waiting, avoiding, or fearing responsibility.

Furthermore, coordination among agencies is often weak, and the capacity of some investors, management boards, and contractors remains limited. Some localities are slow in site clearance, face shortages of construction materials, and experience fluctuating labor costs.

For 2026, the Prime Minister allocated over one trillion VND in public investment capital, accounting for nearly 35,5% of the total state budget expenditure. This amount is 30,6% higher than last year. As of 15/4, the country had disbursed nearly 127.4 billion VND, achieving 12,6% of the Prime Minister's target.

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung affirmed that the Government identifies public investment as a key driver for achieving double-digit growth, developing synchronous infrastructure, and opening new development opportunities. Therefore, public investment disbursement must be accelerated, while ensuring project quality and efficient use of capital.

He assigned the Ministry of Finance to develop a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system for public investment disbursement, to be reported by 15/5. Ministries, sectors, and localities, especially their leaders, must consider public investment disbursement a "top priority."

"Leaders and officials must be specifically assigned to each project, individualizing responsibility as a basis for evaluating task performance," he emphasized, also demanding the immediate replacement of weak project management boards, contractors, and personnel who do not meet requirements.

Phuong Dung