The Ministry of Finance has recently issued a document disclosing the settlement of public investment capital for completed projects in 2023. In 2023, Vietnam had 72,468 completed projects that required settlement procedures as per regulations. Additionally, there were nearly 18,000 projects that failed to submit settlement reports, accounting for 24.8%.
The inspection process identified and excluded VND 2,179.07 billion from the proposed settlement value of VND 354,898.3 billion, representing 0.61% of the total.
Regarding report quality, the Ministry noted several issues, including errors in forms, unit of measurement, and arithmetic; lack of evaluations and comments on causes of delays; and insufficient suggestions for improving the settlement process for completed public investment projects and report compilation by units.
Units Delayed in Submitting Settlement Reports for Completed Public Investment Projects in 2023 |
The Ministry of Finance pointed out that many units had a higher rate of project violations regarding inspection and approval time, exceeding the national average of 19%. These projects were mainly managed by district and commune levels, including the Central Office of the Party, the Supreme People’s Court, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as provinces like Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, and Dak Nong. The responsibility for this issue lies with the agencies in charge of inspection and approval of settlements.
As of the compilation and issuance of the document in early May 2024, the Ministry of Finance had not received reports from three agencies: Hanoi National University, the Vietnam Women’s Union, and the Vietnam Writers’ Association.
Some units had a higher rate of project violations regarding settlement time than the national average of 33%, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the provinces of Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, and Thai Binh. The responsibility for this issue falls on the project owners.
Units with significant remaining capital to be arranged at the time of reporting include the Ministry of Transport (VND 2,861 billion, including VND 2,861 billion from the central budget); Phu Tho (VND 781 billion, including VND 16.95 billion from the central budget); Bac Giang (VND 342.05 billion, including VND 12.36 billion from the central budget); Dien Bien (VND 807 billion); Hanoi (VND 2,325.1 billion); Hai Phong (VND 1,267 billion); and Quang Ninh (VND 2,570 billion).
In terms of value, 45,668 projects were approved for settlement in 2023, with a total investment of over VND 438,683 billion. The total proposed settlement value exceeded VND 354,898 billion, accounting for 80.9% of the total investment. The total approved settlement value was over VND 352,719 billion, representing 80.4% of the total investment.
The delay in completing procedures and documentation for many completed projects affects the efficiency of public investment capital. This is also one of the reasons for slow disbursement.
Given the settlement results for completed public investment projects in 2023 and to ensure compliance with regulations, the Ministry of Finance requested that ministries, central agencies, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and corporations and general companies direct relevant units to strictly adhere to regulations in the settlement of public investment capital for completed projects. This includes timely establishment, inspection, and approval of settlements; identifying the causes and responsibilities of collectives and individuals who fail to comply with settlement timelines (delayed establishment, submission, inspection, or approval of settlement reports);
The Ministry of Finance also proposed the resolute application of disciplinary measures as stipulated, such as publicly disclosing the list of project owners who violate settlement submission timelines.
Units should instruct project owners to promptly prepare settlement reports for 5,947 projects that are delayed and urge inspecting and approving agencies to expedite the process for 2,009 projects that have violated the inspection and approval timelines.
Viet Linh
