This afternoon, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City held a conference to review the socio-economic situation in the first half of the year and set tasks for the second half of 2024.
At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Khac Hoang, Director of the City Statistics Office, said that although the GRDP in the first half of the year grew by 6.46%, the city’s economic picture is slowing down compared to the country.
In the first quarter, GRDP increased by 6.54%, 0.67% higher than the national average, but in the second quarter, it fell to 6.34%, 0.62% lower than the country.
Although half a year has passed, the city has only disbursed nearly VND 10,963 billion, reaching 13.8%. Disbursement in the first quarter was 7%, but it fell to 6.8% in the second quarter, while the city aims to disburse over 22% by the second quarter.
In the remaining months of 2024, the city has to disburse 13% each month, equal to the disbursement of the first six months. This is a big challenge for the city.
 Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai speaks at the conference. Photo: TTBC |
Sharing the same view, Mr. Tran Quang Lam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said that the current situation of public investment disbursement in the city is ‘very worrying’. According to Mr. Lam, if the current situation continues, the disbursement in 2024 will not be as high as last year.
“The two biggest obstacles in public investment at present are planning and site clearance compensation, although they have been regularly discussed and resolved by the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, but there has been little progress,” said Mr. Lam.
Speaking at the conference, Chairman of the City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai expressed concern about the slow disbursement of public investment in the city.
According to him, after six months, the disbursement has only reached 13.8%, while the target set is 30%.
“Last week, we disbursed about VND 2,716 billion. So, the target of disbursing VND 10,000 billion per month is completely achievable. If we have not achieved the target for public investment disbursement so far, we need to review and analyze to draw lessons for the future,” Mr. Mai requested.
Mr. Mai also informed that the People’s Committee will have a separate session to discuss public investment. However, in the immediate future, he requested that the units focus on finding solutions to remove obstacles and promote this process.
Mr. Phan Van Mai suggested that the branches, departments, and districts review and if there are any projects that can be transferred to the districts to be implemented faster, they should propose to do so, with the procedure for the transfer being as quick and simple as possible.
He also requested that the branches, departments, and districts review the projects and propose adjustments to the capital investment sent to the Department of Planning and Investment for synthesis and submission to the People’s Committee for the opinion of the City People’s Council in a timely manner.
“There is a need to review systematically the stagnant and problematic projects to remove obstacles and facilitate disbursement. In the remaining months of 2024, we need to strive to achieve the target of disbursing about 95% of public investment capital in the city,” Mr. Mai emphasized.
|
“Slum renovation is a matter of survival for Ho Chi Minh City” This issue was raised by Dr. Tran Du Lich, Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Implementation of Resolution 98, at the conference. Dr. Tran Du Lich suggested that the City Department of Construction should focus on the housing program, as he considered it “a matter of survival for Ho Chi Minh City.” According to him, the current situation is that some people live in spacious 100-square-meter apartments, while others live in cramped ‘matchbox’ homes of just a few square meters. He mentioned the issue raised by Mr. Duong Anh Duc, Secretary of District 1, at the City Party Committee Conference regarding the cramped living conditions, where people have to take turns sleeping… This issue, according to Dr. Lich, is very close to reality, as “you have to see it to believe it, and it is indeed unimaginable.” According to Dr. Tran Du Lich, implementing the housing program means renovating these “slum” areas, which is considered a critical issue for the city. If the city focuses on renovating these areas, it will be the brightest spot in terms of people’s lives and social issues for the upcoming 12th Congress of the city. |
Ho Van
Proposed Planning for Adding 2 New Cities in Ho Chi Minh City
According to Architect Ngô Viết Nam Sơn, Ho Chi Minh City should consider planning two cities within the city in the south and north.
The Power of Lizen: Consistently Winning Massive Bids
Lizen has achieved a significant milestone by successfully deploying and implementing major high-speed construction projects in 2023. The company’s revenue has reached 2,030.5 billion VND, which is twice the amount compared to 2022. However, the post-tax profit has reached its lowest point in the past 6 years, dropping down to only 118.3 billion VND.
Comprehensive regional connectivity
In addition to building strong physical infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City needs to strengthen its soft connections with other provinces in the region in order to promote economic development. This includes prioritizing the training of skilled workforce and ensuring access to quality healthcare.
