HO CHI MINH CITY: Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City is intensifying efforts to resolve its long‑standing paradox of abundant capital but chronically low public spending – a structural weakness that will continue to shape growth prospects in 2026 and beyond.
Despite improvements on previous years, public investment disbursement in 2025 again fell short. By year‑end, the city had released just 74% of its government‑assigned target: 89.077 trillion dong out of 120.323 trillion dong, well below the near‑100% rate needed to maximise economic impact.
The persistent shortfall has dogged the city for years, blunting the effectiveness of public investment as a growth engine.
HCM City leaders noted that, had disbursement been more efficient, economic expansion would not have been capped at just over 8.03% in 2025 and could have reached a significantly higher level.
Slow land clearance remains one of the biggest bottlenecks, underscoring the need for more decisive action to accelerate progress.
Based on commitments from departments, agencies and project developers, the Department of Finance forecasts that by the close of the 2025 fiscal year on Jan 31, 2026, disbursement could rise to around 114.393 trillion dong, roughly 95% of the plan.
January has been identified as the critical window to hit that mark.
The department will continue reviewing and pushing forward projects with large disbursement volumes, while advising the city administration to swiftly remove obstacles and ensure funds are released on schedule.
Major projects will be prioritised, with expected disbursement of 11.393 trillion dong, nearly 55% of the remaining capital.
At a recent conference on implementing socio‑economic tasks for 2026, People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Van Duoc acknowledged the shortcomings, stressing that stronger, more effective measures are needed to break the disbursement deadlock and lay a firmer foundation for growth.
Drawing lessons from previous years, he said preparations for the 2026 disbursement plan had been accelerated from the outset.
Relevant departments are expected to complete all necessary procedures within the week to allow timely allocation of funds and ensure projects begin on schedule.
The city has already approved its 2026 public investment programme, enabling agencies and investors to develop detailed disbursement schedules and ensure full utilisation of allocated capital.
To meet the target, the Department of Finance has urged departments, districts, special administrative units and project developers to implement a coordinated package of solutions.
Top priority will be completing procedures to allocate the remaining 18.4 trillion dong in the first quarter of 2026, creating fiscal room for implementation throughout the year.
Monthly monitoring of every project will be tightened, with disbursement performance tied to emulation and performance assessments.
Compensation, resettlement and technical infrastructure relocation will also be accelerated to ensure timely site handover, while local authorities mobilise grassroots political systems to build public consensus.
The city also aims to cut administrative processing times for investment procedures by at least 30%, expand the use of digital tools for monitoring and management, and closely track construction‑material markets to manage supply and price fluctuations.
Capital allocation will be adjusted more decisively, with funds cut from delayed projects and redirected to those with strong implementation capacity.
Resources will be concentrated on large, high‑impact projects to lift the overall effectiveness of public investment. — Viet Nam News/ANN
