Unlocking the Mystery Behind Khanh Hoa’s Low Public Investment Disbursement Rate: A Puzzling Conundrum

The Vĩnh Thái resettlement area in Nha Trang city is invested by the Management Board of Agriculture and Rural Development Projects of Khanh Hoa province. The project aims to provide resettlement land for households affected by the implementation of projects in Nha Trang city. However, this important project has been prolonged for years due to compensation and resettlement issues.

The project covers an area of more than 8 hectares, but only half of it has been completed so far, with 40 households yet to receive compensation and hand over the site.

Mr. Quach Thanh Son, Director of the Management Board of Agriculture and Rural Development Projects of Khanh Hoa province, said: “We started constructing the Vinh Thai resettlement project in late 2018, so it has been 5-6 years now. In addition to on-site resettlement, this project also offers 297 land lots for other projects. The most challenging aspect remains land clearance, as we cannot proceed with construction or hand over the site to other units. This delay will impact not only the Vinh Thai Resettlement Area project but also other projects that require resettlement land from this area.”

Meanwhile, key projects with unobstructed sites are making good progress, with disbursement exceeding plans. Specifically, the construction of the Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa province, which started in April, has completed the foundation. The Khanh Hoa Provincial Children’s Culture Palace project, which began in late 2023, has also topped out, with the completion of the main structure of the buildings.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, Director of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Development Project Management Board, shared that the two projects, including the Provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, and People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa province, and the Children’s Culture Palace, are expected to be completed on schedule in 2025, in time for the celebration of Party Congresses at all levels.

“The projects have also planned each month of the year to ensure scientific and reasonable implementation. Key projects have been scheduled to account for weather conditions, with indoor construction taking place during rainy days and outdoor work resuming when the weather clears up. It is crucial to ensure that the projects are completed on time and that the capital disbursement plan is met,” said Mr. Hien.

Currently, Khanh Hoa province has 11 large-scale public investment projects with significant capital allocation but facing challenges in investment procedures and compensation and site clearance. The Provincial People’s Committee has requested that localities establish a district-level Compensation and Site Clearance Steering Committee to expedite the disbursement of capital allocated to districts and capital from national target programs in the area. Departments and sectors are also urged to assign or supplement personnel with expertise in compensation and site clearance to assist district-level People’s Committees in addressing the shortage of human resources.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Tuan, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa, stated that to maintain a double-digit GRDP growth rate, capital disbursement for public investment plays a crucial role. Looking back at the past seven months, the disbursement rate has not met the requirements. The main reasons are slow investment procedures and contractor selection, which affect the progress of project disbursement. Issues with compensation and site clearance persist due to the slow determination of specific land prices for compensation and resettlement support at the district level.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Tuan, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, emphasized the need to address these obstacles to accomplish the task of disbursing public investment capital: “In the past seven months, one area that needs improvement is public investment disbursement. However, the Provincial People’s Committee remains committed to the Prime Minister to ensure that public investment disbursement will reach over 95% by the end of the year. Currently, it has only reached 27%. We hope to improve this indicator in September when Khanh Hoa province completes the contractor selection process for the construction of the Khanh Son-Khanh Vinh road, the Nha Trang-Dien Khanh road, and roads in the Van Phong Economic Zone.”