VIETNAM, July 14 -  

HCM CITY – HCM City's public spending in the year’s first half, at VNĐ15.43 trillion (US$652 million), was only 23 per cent of the budgeted amount despite the many measures it took to remove hurdles.

District authorities and government agencies have been making great efforts to achieve the spending target after an unsatisfactory performance last year and in the first few months of this year.

Besides unavoidable factors like escalating prices of construction materials, which affect contractors’ work, the city has also discovered that agencies overseeing public spending register for low amounts of funds to avoid the stigma of failure to spend.

To ensure that spending this year reaches at least 95 per cent as required by the Government, the City People's Committee has instructed all related agencies and districts to accelerate disbursement.

It has also instructed the districts to review projects that face problems and propose solutions. If resolving them is beyond their authority, they should promptly report them to the city administration, it added.

The Department of Planning and Investment has been ordered to immediately review all projects and make plans to replace those that cannot be implemented.

For the full year the city’s public spending allocation is VNĐ70 trillion ($3 billion), double last year’s figure. – VNS