Hanoi (VNA) – The disbursement of publicinvestment in 2023 was projected to reach 95% of the plan, equivalent to nearly676 trillion VND (over 27 billion USD), marking the record high so far,according to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong.

Public investment has been mainly allocated to key projects,which generate development momentum and foster regional connectivity.

A substantial amount of capital has been injected into theeconomy, helping to further foster the socio-economic development of thecountry, Phuong said.

According to Decision No. 1603/QD-TTg dated December 11, 2023 by the PrimeMinister, heads of ministries, sectors and localities were requested to enhance discipline in disbursingand using public investment capital in 2024, and strengthen inspection andsupervision of the performance of duties by relevant individuals and units.

Nearly 580 trillion VND was disbursed as of December 31, 2023, equivalent toover 73% of the set plan, and over 81% of the plan assigned by the PM. Ministries,sectors and localities with high disbursement rates included the State Bank ofVietnam, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of National Defence, and theprovinces of Quang Ngai, Long An, Dong Thap, and Ca Mau.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, former Director of the Central Institute forEconomic Management (CIEM), public investment has continued to play adominant role as traditional motivations such as exports, are weakening, andconsumption growth is no longer experiencing a breakthrough as seen at the timeafter the COVID-19 pandemic.

The disbursement of public investment in 2023 has significantly contributed to developingcomprehensive infrastructure, particularly in accelerating the progress of keynational and inter-regional transport projects and major urbaninfrastructure works.

The transport sector successfully completed and putinto operation 475 km of expressways, raising the total length of expressways acrossthe country to 1,892 km. As many as 12 North-South expressway sub-projects, three East-Westaxial expressways, two ring roads, and others were commenced in the year.

In the aviation sector, new passenger terminals at Phu Bai InternationalAirport and Dien Bien airport became operational in the year, while the construction of passengerterminal T3 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport was kicked start, and theprogress and quality of Long Thanh International Airport project has beenensured./.