Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is speeding up public investment disbursement to push growth, after going through difficuജlt times due to the severe economic impact of Typhoon Yagi.

Disbursement in the first eight months of this year has fallen short of expectations. According to the the Ministry of Planning and Investment more than 274.5 trillion VND (11 billion USD) was disbursed, equivalent to 40.49% of the yearly plan assigned by the Prime Minister, lower than the 42.35% in the same period last year. Of the total, domestic capital was over 270.47 trillion VND, equal to 41.11% of the plan assigned by the PM, while foreign capital was over 4.03 trillion VND, or 20.16% of the plan. Notably, disbursement for the socioeconomic recovery and development programme reached 4.9 trillion VND, or 79.32%. The ministry’s report showed that there are still 34 ministries, central agencies and 23 localities with disbursement rates below the national average of 40.49%. Notably, some localities which account for large proportions of the total state budget investment plan for 2024, have low disbursement rates, thus greatly affecting the overall rate of the whole country. Ho Chi Minh City is an example. The country's economic locomotive was assigned an investment capital plan of 79.3 trillion VND in 2024, but the estimated disbursement in January-August reached only 13.14 trillion VND. Compared to the same period in 2023, its disbursement decreased by about 6.6 trillion VND. The Government is targeting the public investment disbursement rate of 95% this year. On October 8, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed an official dispatch, urging relevant authorities to accelerate the disbursement of public investment in the remaining months of this year. The Government leader also ordered ministries, sectors, and localities to heed the importance and fully undertake public investment as a top political mission, contributing to bolstering economic growth, creating new development space, reducing logistics costs, and generating jobs./.