PRIME MINISTER DEMANDS HCMC DECISIVELY COMPLETE 10-TRILLION-VND ANTI-FLOODING PROJECT THIS YEAR

"No Matter the Reason, the 10-Trillion-VND Anti-Flooding Project Must Be Finished This Year"

A major highlight of the meeting was the Prime Minister's ultimate deadline for HCMC's stalled and prolonged projects. The PM noted that he had directly discussed the matter with the Secretary of the City Party Committee, Tran Luu Quang, to align on a strict timeline for the 10-trillion-VND anti-flooding project.

"The City Party Committee Secretary and I have agreed that this project must be completed this year, no matter the reason. The Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee must direct a thorough resolution." - Prime Minister Le Minh Hung emphasized.

The Prime Minister affirmed that almost all institutional bottlenecks have been cleared. If any difficulties arise under central jurisdiction (especially regarding the banking sector), the Government stands ready to support and resolve them. Conversely, for issues within local jurisdiction, the city must proactively settle complaints and work with investors to ensure the project moves forward in reality, rather than just remaining a proposal on paper.

In addition, the PM demanded that HCMC rigorously review other stagnant projects within the second quarter and accelerate key infrastructure works:

• Under construction: Ring Road 3, An Phu Intersection, My Thuy Intersection, National Highway 50...

• Slated for early commencement: Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem), Can Gio sea-crossing bridge, Cai Mep Ha port, Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway, and Thu Thiem 4 Bridge.

Commit to Progress to Receive "Massive" Funding

This year, HCMC has been allocated a massive public investment capital plan of 147.599 trillion VND (accounting for about 18% of the country's total). To date, the city has disbursed only 33.933 trillion VND (reaching 23%), a figure deemed short of expectations.

To accelerate this capital flow, the head of the Government laid out key principles:

• Enforce accountability of top leaders: Capital disbursement must define clear roles and responsibilities, strictly tied to the heads of departments, agencies, and project management boards.

• Conditional resource priority: The Government is ready to prioritize maximum resources and specific mechanisms for HCMC to lead the national economy. However, the city must commit to on-time execution, ensure project quality, lower the ICOR (Incremental Capital Output Ratio), and avoid scattered investment.

HCMC currently aims to accelerate progress to achieve a disbursement rate of over 70% by the end of the third quarter and exceed 95% by the end of the fiscal year.

Formulating the Special Urban Law and International Financial Center

To help HCMC achieve its two-digit growth target and shape a new development model for the country, the Prime Minister requested the city focus on several strategic tasks:

• Finalize the Law on Special Urban Areas: Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to submit it to the National Assembly in the upcoming session. This is a major opportunity for the city to design breakthrough, highly feasible policies regarding finance, land, and infrastructure.

• Operate the International Financial Center: The Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam are tasked with collaborating with the city to design attractive financial products to mobilize large-scale capital.

• Planning and Housing: Swiftly complete the HCMC Master Plan as a legal basis for project implementation, while identifying the development of rental housing as a strategic priority.

• Public Asset Management: The HCMC People's Committee will coordinate with ministries to review and propose plans to optimize the utilization of public land and houses in the area, reporting to the Government within this June.

Source: CafeF