HCM City targets all 2017’s investment capital disbursed by next Jan

At a meeting on August 3 to review the city’s disbursement of public investment capital, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Tran Thi Binh Minh said more than VND26.18 trillion (US$1.15 billion) has been allocated from the State budget to HCM City so far this year.

The city had disbursed VND13.21 trillion (US$581.1 million) as of July 31, 50 percent of the sum planned to be disbursed this year. That includes VND722 billion (US$31.8 million) of capital from the central budget, 22 percent of total State capital subject to disbursement.

HCM City also disbursed VND2.9 trillion (US$127.6 million) or 72% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital allocated by central agencies as of July 31. Meanwhile, local projects need about VND7.7 trillion (US$338.7 million) of ODA capital this year.

Minh said as the provided ODA capital has met about 50% of local demand, HCM City will struggle to soon finish many projects.

This is also a reason behind the slow payment of contracts signed with foreign partners, which could force the city to pay fines for late payment, she added.

Meanwhile, about VND9.59 trillion (US$421.9 million) or 51% of capital sourced from the city’s budget was disbursed as of July 31. This sluggish disbursement is mainly attributable to slow site clearance.

While the capacity of some investors, project managing boards and consultancies remains inconsistent, contractors selected for some projects changed for one service multiple times, affecting the progress of projects, participants at the meeting were told.