Nearly VND995.35 trillion (more than $37.8 billion) in state budget investment has been allocated for 2026

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.

VNA-Van Nguyen