Investment

Disbursement of public investment capital has seen positive signs but remains tardy. Some VND35 trillion ($1.43 billion) was disbursed in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 16 per cent year-on-year and equal to 46.7 per cent of the 2022 plan assigned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. He has now requested that ministries, central agencies, and localities implement solutions set out in resolutions from regular government meetings and guiding documents from government leaders on disbursement this year.

In its 2023 plan, State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) will concentrate on assessing financial market restructuring, focusing on commercial banks and credit institutions. In the field of construction investment, SAV is expected to conduct 26 audits of investment projects, including key traffic projects such as the East North-South Expressway, Long Thanh International Airport, and coastal roads, among others.

More than VND5.4 trillion ($220 million) will be set aside by the government for six railway projects in the 2021-2025 period, with construction of the Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City section hoped to begin by the end of this year. The Ministry of Transport is now urgently completing investment in four projects renovating and upgrading the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City line, with total capital of VND7 trillion ($286 million), and is preparing to invest in important new international routes.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Decision No. 1255/QD-TTg on October 17 approving the construction of the Vinh Thanh Industrial Park, first phase, in the Mekong Delta’s Can Tho city. The industrial park will sit on 293.7 ha with investment of about VND3.718 trillion ($152.6 million).

Together with the Van Phong Economic Zone in south-central Khanh Hoa province and the Van Don Economic Zone in northern Quang Ninh province, the Phu Quoc Economic Zone on Phu Quoc Island in the Mekong Delta’s Kien Giang province has been prioritized for investment by the government. It has attracted 338 investment projects to date, including 27 FDI projects, with total registered capital standing at nearly VND388 trillion ($16 billion). Projects disbursed nearly VND15 trillion ($621.6 million) in the first nine months of 2022, bringing the total to VND165 trillion ($7 billion).

The 220 kV Kien Binh - Phu Quoc transmission line, the longest offshore overhead power transmission line in Southeast Asia at 80.4 km and with total investment of over VND2.2 trillion ($90.4 million), was put into operation on October 14. The line will increase the power supply capacity for Phu Quoc Island in the Mekong Delta’s Kien Giang province by about five-fold compared to the current load and will meet needs to 2035.