HÀ NỘI — Minister of Construction Trần Hồng Minh has requested that efforts be intensified to accelerate the disbursement of public investment in the last two months of this year. 

This comes after the rate reached only 51 per cent of the plan by the end of October.

Stressing that speeding up disbursement is key to meeting growth targets, Minh said at the ministry’s meeting on Tuesday that it is necessary to remove legal bottlenecks and ensure effective settlements.

Statistics showed that by the end of October, the ministry’s disbursement was estimated at VNĐ40.9 trillion (US$1.55 billion) or 51 per cent of its full-year plan, leaving a huge workload in the remaining months of this year.

Minh specifically criticised six project management boards, Mỹ Thuận, Maritime and Inland Waterways, No 85, Railway, Board 7 and the Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam, for stagnation in disbursement. 

He called on these developers to assign competent personnel to promptly resolve procedure problems and ensure efficient disbursement, especially for completed sessions of the North-South Expressway. 

Minh also urged drastic efforts to expedite the progress of the groundbreaking for four projects and complete 12 projects by December 19.

He said that the target of opening several expressway sections to traffic on December 19 remains unchanged, urging progress to be accelerated, especially for projects which are still behind schedule, such as Tuyên Quang – Hà Giang, Đồng Đăng – Trà Lĩnh, Hữu Nghị – Chi Lăng routes, Biên Hòa – Vũng Tàu, Quy Nhơn – Chí Thạnh, Chí Thạnh – Vân Phong, Cần Thơ – Hậu Giang, and Hậu Giang – Cà Mau.

For seven projects slated to begin construction this year but have not yet started, the expansion of the HCM City – Trung Lương – Mỹ Thuận Expressway, completion of the Núi Vung and Cù Mông tunnels, Ninh Cường Bridge on National Highway 37B, the Cam Lộ –  La Sơn Expressway expansion, Thần Vũ Tunnel and the Lào Cai – Hà Nội – Hải Phòng railway, he said, they all must break ground by December 9.

These projects would not only improve the infrastructure system but also drive progress in disbursement, he stressed. 

Minh also requested that the pilot model of a real estate trading centre be finalised early.   

Regarding the programme to develop at least one million social housing units for low-income earners and workers by 2030, the ministry reported that to date, 191 projects with 128,648 units have been completed nationwide.

In the first 10 months of this year, more than 61,890 units were completed, equivalent to 62 per cent of this year’s plan. — VNA/VNS