Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed an end to scattered public investment and ordered that the total number of State-funded public investment projects during the 2026–2030 period be strictly limited to no more than 3,000, according to a report from the Vietnam News Agency.
Addressing a national conference on public investment promotion for 2025 and 2026 on January 9, PM Chinh reviewed disbursement performance for 2025 and the full 2021–2025 term, saying that the Government has taken sustained and decisive action to create a solid legal framework, untangle bottlenecks and unlock resources for development.
Over the five-year period, the Government submitted 10 laws on public investment for National Assembly approval or amendment, and issued 61 decrees guiding the enforcement, alongside numerous resolutions, directives and dispatches to push spending. More than 20 national and regional teleconferences were convened, while the PM, Deputy PMs and local working groups conducted frequent field inspections to address project delays.
The efforts yielded notable results: total public investment disbursement since the start of the term reached roughly VND3.4 quadrillion ($130 billion), a nearly 55% increase. The number of projects using state budget was sharply reduced, from about 11,000 during 2016–2020 to roughly 4,600 in 2021–2025.
Key infrastructure milestones included the completion of 3,345km of expressways, largely finishing the eastern wing of the North–South expressway from Cao Bang to Ca Mau, 1,711km of coastal roads, and the commissioning of multiple airports and seaports. Progress also advanced on major rail, energy and strategic projects. In 2025 alone, 564 major projects were launched or inaugurated nationwide, with a combined investment capital surpassing VND5.12 quadrillion (nearly $195 billion).
Commending ministries and localities for their contributions, particularly 11 centrally-run agencies and 15 localities with disbursement rates at or above the national average, the PM pinpointed persistent shortcomings, their root causes and key lessons learnt.
Disbursement target for both 2025 and 2026 remains 100%, he reiterated, calling for a reduction in the incremental capital-output ratio (ICOR) from about 6 to 4.5 in 2026.
The Government leader asked ministers, heads of agencies, and provincial leaders to treat public investment disbursement as a core political task, raise the sense of responsibility, swiftly untangle project-specific bottlenecks and tie disbursement performance directly to annual evaluations. He also stressed the need to priorities nationally critical projects such as the second phase of Long Thanh International Airport, the North–South high-speed railway and rail links with China, urging proactive action and full assumption of responsibility.
According to the Ministry of Finance, public investment disbursement in 2025 topped VND755 trillion (more than $28.7 billion) by the late December, or 83.7% of the PM’s assigned plan, higher than the same period in 2024 but still short of expectations. For 2026, the Government has allocated nearly VND995.35 trillion (more than $37.8 billion) in state budget investment, of which about 85.6% has been assigned in detail by ministries, central agencies and localities as of January 7, with the remainder yet to be allocated.
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