However, he also emphasized that, above all, it is crucial to adjust the spirit of responsibility and focus on effective implementation.
On the morning of January 13, the People's Committee of HCMC held a conference to review the implementation of the public investment plan for 2023 and outline the public investment plan for 2024. Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, member of the Politburo and Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee, attended the conference.
Disbursement target of 12-15 percent in Q1
In his opening remarks, Mr. Phan Van Mai underscored that the disbursement of public investment capital is a key political task of the city in 2023. The allocated capital for the year is substantial, exceeding VND68 trillion, equivalent to about one-tenth of the total national public investment capital. As of January 12, 2024, the city had disbursed nearly VND45.87 trillion, reaching 67 percent. While the disbursement rate has not yet met the set requirements, it is still a notable achievement, surpassing the results achieved in 2022 by 1.7 times.
According to the Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee, achieving the mentioned results required significant efforts from many units, particularly districts and Thu Duc City, with 21 units achieving disbursement rates of over 90 percent, including 16 localities surpassing 95 percent. The departmental bloc showed commendable performance, with 20 units achieving disbursement rates over 95 percent and 12 units disbursing between 80-95 percent. However, many units still face challenges with low disbursement rates and several limitations in the organization of public investment implementation.
In the years 2022 and 2023, many projects were assigned the task of preparing investment policy in accordance with Decision 3236 issued on September 26, 2022. However, as of now, the approval procedures for these investment projects have not been completed. The processes and documentation for these projects have taken considerable amount of time, necessitating discussions for necessary adjustments.
Moreover, precision and coherence are crucial in project implementation. Upon review, several projects expected to be executed this year were not included in the list of projects subject to land recovery submitted to the HCMC People's Council. One notable example is the project on the North bank of Kenh Doi, aiming to expedite procedures for commencing construction before April 30, 2025, but it is absent from the submitted list to the People's Council. Mr. Phan Van Mai requested that this issue be thoroughly examined to prevent a recurrence in 2024.
The Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee has requested discussions on various other issues. These include challenges and obstacles in the appraisal and approval of land price adjustment factors for compensation plans and difficulties in determining compensation prices for land that align closely with market rates to secure high consensus among residents, especially regarding agricultural land prices. Moreover, there are impediments in relocating technical infrastructure systems, preparing resettlement land funds, and addressing the responsibilities of contractors with inadequate capacity, delays, sluggishness, and contract violations.
According to the data provided by the Department of Planning and Investment on the first-quarter disbursement over the past three years, 2021 recorded the highest disbursement rate with 12 percent, while 2022 had a considerably low rate, and 2023 exhibited an even lower rate. In the first quarter of 2023, only VND1.6 trillion was disbursed out of the total budget of over VND68 trillion.
60-day campaign: Accelerating disbursement
Ms. Le Thi Huynh Mai, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of HCMC, disclosed that the total public investment capital allocated and adjusted by the HCMC People's Committee amounted to VND68.63 trillion in 2023. It basically met the government's target for public investment capital in 2023 and marked a 1.8-fold increase compared to 2022. It is anticipated that the city's year-end disbursement may reach VND49.4 trillion.
The Department of Planning and Investment appraises this outcome as relatively positive, in comparison to 2022, reflecting the efforts and determination of the HCMC authorities. While the city disbursed over VND26.2 trillion in 2022, the estimated disbursement for 2023 is projected to be higher by VND21.85 trillion.
During the intensive 60-day campaign to accelerate public investment disbursement, the disbursement figure surged from VND25.11 trillion (36.6 percent) at the end of October to VND43.49 trillion (63 percent) by December 31. In November, the HCMC People's Committee took the lead in addressing 132 challenging issues associated with 92 projects. This concerted effort resulted in an additional disbursement of roughly VND8 trillion.
In 2024, HCMC has been entrusted with a total investment capital of VND79.26 trillion by the Prime Minister. This allocation comprises VND75.58 trillion from the local budget and VND3.69 trillion from the central budget. The Department of Planning and Investment has collaborated closely with various units to determine the anticipated disbursement amounts for each entity in 2024.
The department has deployed units to complete disbursement plans with detailed figures for each project on a monthly basis. From the end of January 2024, task forces will concentrate on overcoming difficulties related to public investment, scrutinizing the progress of each project, and creating favorable conditions for capital disbursement right from the beginning of the year.
Regarding the disbursement of compensation funds, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment, mentioned that in 2023, the total compensation fund for the city amounted to VND27.96 trillion, covering 224 projects. Of these, 50 projects have VND5.5 trillion carried over from 2022, and 174 projects have VND22.4 trillion assigned in 2023. Presently, the disbursement has left the State Treasury with over VND27.1 trillion, achieving a rate of 97.25 percent. However, due to some remaining procedures, the actual amount disbursed to the people is over VND18.1 trillion, reaching a rate of 66.94 percent.
Some localities have achieved notable disbursement rates for compensation funds. For instance, District 8 has disbursed over VND798 billion, reaching 81.18 percent; Binh Tan District has allocated over VND2.3 trillion to residents, achieving 87.09 percent. Cu Chi has given out over VND2.1 trillion, reaching 91.23 percent. Although Thu Duc City has distributed over VND5 trillion to residents, the disbursement rate is only 53.73 percent.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment assesses the disbursement rate of 66.94 percent, which, while falling short of the set requirements, is significantly higher than in 2022. The compensation fund is 2.18 times higher, and the actual disbursement amount is 2.41 times higher.
