Capital disbursement for the economic recovery program has been actively implemented

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According to Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong, since the issuance of Resolution 11, the MPI has regularly updated the progress through regular press conferences as well as reports in February and March. In general, the implementation progress of the tasks assigned in Resolution 11 basically follows the targets set by the Resolution for relevant ministries and agencies.At the regular Government press conference on the evening of April 4, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong informed the press on the progress of the implementation of Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP dated January 30, 2022 on the Socio-economic Development and Recovery Program and the implementation of Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 of the National Assembly on fiscal and monetary policies to support the Program.

According to the Deputy Minister, the progress of the implementation of the socio-economic recovery program reveals a number of problem groups.

Firstly, given the mechanism and policy groups that have been issued and are being implemented, there are policies that can even be implemented immediately after the issuance of Resolution No. 11 such as those related to tax exemption and reduction issued by the Ministry of Finance and until now only this policy can be disbursed. According to preliminary reports, currently, the amount of tax exemption and reduction is about VND9,000 billion.

In addition, a number of new policies are also updated to timely control and guide related agencies such as Decision No. 08 of the Prime Minister dated March 28 on implementing the policy of housing rental support for employees which will be implemented in the near future.

Along with that is the guidance of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the specific mechanism of mining as common materials for important infrastructure projects, especially the North-South expressway project.

Secondly, ministries and branches have also completed their tasks according to the requirements of Resolution 11 to submit documents and draft legal regulations for the Prime Minister and the Government to consider and decide such as the Draft Decree on guidelines for lending interest rate support through commercial banks (submitted), draft Decree on guiding guidelines related to the specific mechanism on contractor appointment (submitted), the draft Decision approving the bond issuance guarantee limit of the Social Policy Bank (submitted).

Thirdly, a group of guiding documents and circulars issued by ministries and branches according to their competence are also in the process of finalization and consultation with relevant ministries and branches, such as the amendment of Circular No. 12. 2016 on the use of the enterprise's science and technology development fund or the draft Circular on equipping tablets for the program "Waves and computers for children", the draft Decision of the Prime Minister related to procedures and sequence of loan interest rates for non-public preschool and primary schools.

According to the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, the general assessment is that these tasks have been performed very actively by ministries and sectors, closely following the required progress of Resolution 11.

As for public investment, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong affirmed that this sector comprises most expenses of the state budget. In relation to the restoration program's portfolio of projects, these are essentially new, unprocessed lists.

Therefore, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is coordinating with ministries and sectors to compile a list to report to the Prime Minister for permission to notify ministries and local branches to carry out investment preparation procedures with projects, especially large projects.

Currently, there are five important national projects in the field of transportation, including two ring roads of two cities and three expressway projects of the Ministry of Transport, which have completed the appraisal and pre-feasibility study report to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and decision. Only when the project completes the procedures, will the disbursement be made.

However, the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment said that Resolution 43 also allows additional capital of the program to be disbursed in advance for projects in the medium-term public investment plan.

In the Government meeting on April 6, the MPI submitted the plan to allocate and supplement the first phase of 2022 for projects that have completed all procedures in the medium-term public investment plan.

This will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly according to the authority allocated to the ministries and local branches. On that basis, ministries, branches and localities shall allocate details according to each project in order to disburse funds for projects.

"State budget expenditures must ensure two important factors: compliance with legal regulations and legal procedures so as not to spend incorrectly and to ensure spending efficiency. Although the current recovery program's capital disbursement is being carried out very actively, it must ensure both efficiency and compliance with the current law," said Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong.