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Cua Viet Bridge, which was built from the State budget, is one of the key projects for central Quang Tri Province's socio-economic development strategy. The Government is expected to improve its public investment management with drastic measures and mechanisms. — VNA/VNS Photo Ho Cau |
The Government would focus on improving its policies and structures on investment management, especially regarding State funded projects, the head of the Planning and Investment Ministry (MPI)'s External Economy Department, Ho Quang Minh told the participants.
The seminar was held to share international experiences in public management and help Viet Nam learn lessons from other countries in the field.
To improve the effectiveness of public investment, said Minh, the government was speeding up the completion of guidelines related to investment management. The policies and mechanics on consulting, supervising and managing of publicly invested projects will be improved to make the processes more transparent, according to Minh.
According to MPI statistics, around VND286 trillion (US$14.6 billion) was spent on public investment during the 2001-05 period, accounting for more than 23 per cent of the total investment in all social fields. Total expenditure is expected to rise to VND739 trillion (nearly $37.9 billion), accounting for more than 24 per cent of total investment, during the 2010-15 period. That means huge investment from the State budget on the public projects and targeted programmes, according to the MPI.
It is vital to have efficient management to make the most effective use of investment. The Government therefore needs to have proper measures and policies to ensure national investment funding is effectively used.
Viet Nam had a high rate of public investment, throughout a wide range of different fields, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the nation's gross domestic production, Martin Rama, head of the World Bank's East Asia Development office, told the seminar.
There were, however, weaknesses in many of the country's investment fields, said Rama, the bank's lead economist, who pointed out the drawbacks in public investment at the meeting. Regional development as a component of the comprehensive investment plan had not received adequate attention and a strategic environment evaluation had not been completed to determine key fields for investment, said Rama.
Decentralisation has resulted in inefficiencies and an overlapping in the public investment management, according to the bank's economist.
Sharing the South Korean experiences in economic renovation, head of the Public and Private Infrastructure Management Centre of the country's Development Institute Kim Jay-hyung said he agreed with the Vietnamese Government's plan which would see investment project assessment at both central and local levels.
The Vietnamese Government would adopt comprehensive measures when assigning responsibilities to relevant authorities and investors based on the grade of the project, said Minh. The works on assessment, supervision and inspection will be improved while ineffective projects and investment funds which did not meet the requirements of the comprehensive plan reviewed, according to Minh. — VNS
