Several newly funded projects were finalising preparation procedures, while ongoing projects made up most of the executed work. — VNA/VNS
HANOI: Public investment has been assigned a significant role in accelerating Vietnam’s socio-economic development, with public investment for 2025 set at 825.9 trillion dong (US$33.6bil), according to the Planning and Investment Ministry.
This budget has been approved by the National Assembly and signed off by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Ministries, sectors and localities handed out 741.1 trillion dong as of Jan 31, which equates to 89.7% of the plan. Of this, the central budget accounted for 310.1 trillion dong, 88.6% of the allocation. The local budget reached 431 trillion dong.
A report by the General Statistics Office highlighted that investment activities in January 2025 focused mainly on budget allocation.
Several newly funded projects were finalising preparation procedures, while ongoing projects made up most of the executed work.
Public investment disbursement in January 2025 was estimated at 35.4 trillion dong, equal to 4.1% of the annual plan and marking a 9.6% increase from the previous year, a 16.9% increase on January 2024.
Investment managed by the central government reached 4.9 trillion dong, equal to 3.7% of the plan, rising 1.3% year-on-year (y-o-y).
The Transport Ministry disbursed three trillion dong, a decrease of 2.9% y-o-y, while the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry allocated 591.3 billion dong, reflecting an increase of 88.6%. The Health Ministry spent 107.6 billion dong, marking a rise of 186.9%.
The Education and Training Ministry disbursed 60.4 billion dong, up 39.8% and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry spent 45.1 billion dong, an increase of 20.3%.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry disbursed 30.1 billion dong, up 6.4%, while the Information and Communications Ministry allocated 19.3 billion dong, an increase of 35.6%.
Investments managed by local authorities reached 30.5 trillion dong – 4.2% of the plan and representing an 11% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Despite progress, some challenges remain in budget allocation and disbursement.
Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that accelerating the disbursement, especially for national target programmes, was essential for economic growth and development goals.
He called for stronger coordination among ministries, sectors and localities to address the obstacles and ensure the effective use of investment resources.
Experts pointed out that early and a more detailed budget allocation was key to speeding up public investment disbursement.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Duc Tam said that the revised law strengthens decentralisation and reform, shifting from pre-approval to post-audit and granting localities greater autonomy and accountability.
“The amendments address urgent issues that have been tested in practice and need to be formalised into law,” he said.
Dr Nguyen Quoc Viet, deputy director of the Institute for Economics and Policy Research, suggested increasing private sector involvement in infrastructure projects to ease the administrative burden on state agencies.
He said that if properly structured, partnerships with large private enterprises could enhance project execution. — Viet Nam News/ANN
