On August 15, at the Vietnam Economic Forum’s 3rd session, themed “Unblocking Public Investment Disbursement,” organized by NLD Newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City, delegates and experts proposed solutions to boost one of the economy’s three pillars of growth.
Dr. Tran Du Lich at the forum. Photo: BTC.
Economist Tran Du Lich acknowledged that Resolution 98 of the National Assembly on piloting several mechanisms and special policies for Ho Chi Minh City continues to expand decentralization and delegation of procedures, which will positively promote public investment while contributing to mobilizing resources and developing social infrastructure.
“With this resolution, Ho Chi Minh City has the advantage of deciding on Group A projects, shortening the project implementation time. However, once the decision is made, there are numerous subsequent steps to follow as per the general regulations,” Dr. Lich stated.
According to the expert, Ho Chi Minh City’s leaders are very passionate and focused on directing public investment disbursement and unblocking bottlenecks to ensure that the goal of rapidly deploying VND79,000 billion of capital by the end of this year is achieved. The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and related departments have categorized projects for disbursement in the remaining months of the year.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, said that public investment projects are currently carried out by the state or a project management unit. Public investment projects have sufficient funds but are still bottlenecked due to procedural mechanisms, processes, and sequences, which calls for a holistic solution.
According to Mr. Hoa, government agencies need to be bold in changing their approach. On the other hand, public investment projects should be socialized to address the bottlenecks.
“All procedures and approvals should be left to the private sector, and only the final acceptance needs to be done by the government. This could be a smoother and faster approach,” Mr. Hoa suggested.
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, Vice Director of the Institute of Economics and Policy, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, emphasized that the crucial issue is expediting the progress to implement the projects and, ultimately, put them to use. Investment value is not just about numbers to beautify growth targets, but the crucial aspect is the spillover effect, attracting private investment, and spillover to other sectors and fields.
Ho Chi Minh City is striving to accelerate public investment projects. In the picture: workers are working on the project of improving the environment and building infrastructure of Tham Luong – Ben Cat – Rach Nuoc Len canal (Photo: Huu Huy)
According to Mr. Le Bach Cuong, Head of the Southern Construction Investment Management Department under the Ministry of Transport, statistics from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) show that during the 2021-2025 period, the government has allocated resources to invest in transport infrastructure development, with the target of having about 3,000km of expressways nationwide by 2025. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Transport is coordinating with relevant ministries to advise and allow the implementation of some specific mechanisms to shorten the investment procedures.
Mr. Cuong clarified that to promote public investment, up to 70% of the tasks could be accelerated by local authorities, with land clearance being the most critical among them.
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.
