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| The interchange between Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway and Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway __Photo: VNA |
With total public investment planned at more than VND 1 quadrillion (US$ 38.52 billion) this year, the Government has demonstrated its determination to use public investment as a key driver to achieve economic growth of 10 per cent or higher.
However, to ensure the funding's effectiveness, disbursement bottlenecks must be removed, leadership accountability strengthened, and implementation accelerated from the start of the year.
According to the plan assigned by the Prime Minister, the total public investment sourced from the State budget this year reaches nearly VND 995.35 trillion, about VND 93 trillion higher than in 2025. Of the total, the central budget capital accounts for VND 345.12 trillion, including VND 327.44 trillion in domestic capital and VND 17.68 trillion in foreign capital, while the local budget capital stands at VND 650.23 trillion.
In addition to the assigned plan, many localities have allocated additional balanced local budget capital.
Localities have increased their allocations by VND 12.93 trillion compared to the Prime Minister’s target.
Meanwhile, VND 42 billion from previous years has been permitted to be carried forward to 2026, mainly for national target programmes. Economic experts say the VND 1 quadrillion reflects the Government’s strong resolve to leverage public investment as the principal growth engine to secure full-year expansion of at least 10 per cent.
In the first month of the year, disbursement reached VND 19.13 trillion, equivalent to 2 per cent of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister. Of this, central budget disbursement totalled VND 1.11 trillion, or 0.3%, while local budget disbursement reached VND 18.02 trillion, or 2.8%.Nevertheless, familiar bottlenecks persist, particularly those identified in 2025, including slow site clearance, shortages of construction materials, policy-related obstacles and uneven implementation capacity, especially at the grassroots level under the two-tier local government model.
To address these issues, the Government and the Ministry of Finance have issued directives requiring ministries, sectors and localities to review capital allocation plans, fully update data on the National Public Investment Information System and the Treasury and Budget Management Information System (TABMIS), and ensure sufficient conditions for disbursement.The Government has repeatedly stressed the role of agency heads, linking disbursement performance with task completion assessment and emulation rewards.
Detailed monthly and quarterly disbursement schedules for each project must be established as a benchmark for accountability.
Ministries and localities need to draw lessons from shortcomings in 2025, adopt more decisive management measures and accelerate disbursement, particularly for national key projects, major infrastructure works and national target programmes.
For major national projects, especially transport infrastructure, authorities are requested to make full use of favourable weather conditions early in the year to speed up construction and investment preparation for large-scale projects such as the North–South high-speed railway and regional railway connections.
Regarding payment and settlement, ministries and localities are required to comply with Government Decree No. 254/2025/ND-CP on management and settlement of public investment projects, while streamlining procedures and promptly submitting payment dossiers for completed volumes to avoid end-of-year congestion.
According to the Ministry of Finance, total public investment capital assigned in 2025 exceeded VND 1.18 quadrillion.
As of January 31, 2026, disbursement reached VND 858.62 trillion, equal to 94.8 per cent of the Prime Minister’s plan.
Although the 100 per cent target was not fully met, the result played a vital role in supporting the economic growth of over 8 per cent in 2025, exceeding both the absolute value and rate recorded in 2024.
Officials noted that 2025, the final year of the 2021-25 medium-term plan, saw the largest public investment volume of the period amid complex natural disasters and mounting disbursement pressure. Strong political will, particularly from heads of agencies and local disbursement task forces, helped remove obstacles in site clearance and accelerate project implementation.
Public investment, therefore, is a decisive growth lever for 2026, provided that implementation is carried out in a more proactive, disciplined and results-oriented manner from the outset.- (VNA/VLLF)
