Resolution 29/2021/QH15 on the medium-term public investment plan in 2021-2025

RESOLUTION

On the medium-term public investment plan in the 2021-2025 period

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THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Law No. 39/2014/QH13 on Public Investment, amended and supplemented with a number of articles under the Law No. 64/2020/QH14;

Pursuant to the Law No. 83/2015/QH13 on the State Budget, amended and supplemented with a number of articles under the Law No. 59/2020/QH14;

After considering the Government’s Official Dispatch No. 244/TTr-CP and the Report No. 243/BC-CP of July 16, 2021; the National Assembly’s Finance and the Budget Committee’s Verification Report No. 7/BC- UBTCNS15 of July 21, 2021; the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Explanatory Report No. 28/BC-UBTVQH15 of July 28, 2021, and opinions of the National Assembly deputies;

RESOLVES:

Article 1. Objectives and orientations of the medium-term public investment plan in the 2021-2025 period

1. Overall objectives:

To continue to restructure public investment and improve the efficiency of public investment fund, reduce the proportion of public investment fund in total social investment capital, promote the leading role of public investment, increase the attraction of investment fund sources from non-state economic sectors; create marked changes in strategic breakthroughs in infrastructure development, growth promotion and social security assurance; make an important contribution to realize the objectives of the five-year socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period.

2. Specific objectives:

a) The average total investment fund of the whole society in five years for the 2021-2025 period shall be about 32-34% of GDP, the average proportion of public investment fund in five years shall be about 16-17% of the total investment fund of the whole society.

b) The proportion of expenditure on development investment from the state budget shall be about 28%, striving for about 29% of the total state budget expenditure, increasing the leading role of the central budget in public investment;

c) To strive for the average disbursement rate of public investment fund in the 2021-2025 period to reach over 90% of the plan assigned by the National Assembly; the number of projects completed in the period reaching over 80% of the total fund allocated projects.

3. Orientations:

a) Investment in a focused, synchronous, modern manner, putting the projects into use as soon as possible and promote their actual efficiency. Focusing on investing in national target programs, important national projects, key projects with high spillover effects, meaningful in promoting socio-economic development, improving the competitiveness of the economy, creating breakthroughs to attract investment fund in the form of public-private partnership. Overcoming the situation of scattered, spreading, prolonged investment; minimizing the number of new construction projects;

b) Public investment must closely follow and serve the effective implementation of development objectives and orientations of the ten-years socio-economic development strategies for 2021-2030, and the five-years socio-economic development plans for 2021-2025 of the country, sectors, fields, localities, and national, regional, sectoral and provincial master plans approved by competent authorities; public investment shall play a leading role in activating the mobilization of non-state investment resources, promoting public-private cooperation in strategic infrastructure development;

c) Ensuring the reasonable and effective investment structure among regions, areas, and fields, in which investment fund from the state budget is given priority to dynamic regions, mountainous, border areas, islands, ethnic minority areas, areas heavily affected by epidemics, natural disasters, storms, and floods and areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions; strengthening the capacity of infrastructure systems to respond to climate change.

Completing of the ground clearance of Long Thanh International Airport project; satisfying the progress requirements to basically complete the eastern North-South Expressway (phase 1); promptly preparing the investment, starting construction and basically completing the ring road projects 3 and 4 of the dynamic areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as soon as possible, connecting the Mekong River delta region, the route connecting the Central Highlands with the South Central, Northern mountainous area, coastal roads, East-West economic corridor, the eastern North-South Expressway project in the 2021-2025 period; reporting to the National Assembly for consideration and decision on investment policy in national important projects in accordance with the Law on public investment.

Article 2. The total state budget fund for medium-term investment plans in the 2021-2025 period

1. The total state budget fund for medium-term investment plans in the 2021-2025 period is VND 2,870,000 billion, including:

a) VND 1,500,000 billion from the central budget, including: VND 1,200,000 billion from domestic sources, VND 300,000 billion from foreign sources;

b) VND 1,370,000 billion balanced from the local budget.

(Appendix I to this Resolution)

2. Contingencies equal to 10% of the central budget fund for medium-term public investment plans by each capital source shall be used to handle problems arising during the implementation of the medium-term investment plan.

3. Contingencies for the local budget fund for medium-term public investment plans for the 2021-2025 period shall be decided by the People's Councils at all levels according to their competence specified in Clause 6, Article 51 of the Law on Public Investment.

4. Allocation of the medium-term public investment fund plan from the state budget:

a) The amount of fund allocated to ministries, central agencies and localities shall be as follows:

i) To allocate VND 1,090,014,445 billion from the central budget fund;

ii) VND 1,233,000 billion from the local budget fund.

The Government shall promptly complete the allocation plan of the remaining local budget fund that has not been allocated in detail, VND 137,000 billion, and submit it to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and opinion before assigning the medium-term public investment plan.

(Appendix II to this Resolution)

b) Detailed allocation of the central budget fund source according to each sector, field to each ministry, central agency, and target transfer from the central budget to each local.

(Appendix III to this Resolution)

Article 3. National target programs and national important projects

1. To allocate VND 100,000 billion of the medium-term investment plan fund from the state budget in the 2021-2025 period to implement 03 national target programs, in which:

a) VND 50,000 billion for the national target program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas;

b) VND 30,000 billion for the national target program on building new-style rural areas;

c) VND 20,000 billion for the national target program on sustainable poverty reduction.

2. To allocate VND 65,795,847 billion of the medium-term investment plans fund from the state budget in the 2021-2025 period to continue implementing 03 national important programs on which investment policy has been decided by the National Assembly: The project of land acquisition, compensation, support and resettlement at Long Thanh International Airport, the project to build a number of expressway sections on the eastern North-South Expressway (phase 1) and the Ka Pet water reservoir project, Ham Thuan Nam district, Binh Thuan province.

3. To allocate about VND 38,738 billion of the medium-term investment plans fund from the state budget in the 2021-2025 period to invest in the eastern North-South Expressway project in the 2021-2025 period.

4. To invest in expressway projects and other key projects with the capital of about VND 78,719 billion: To assign the Government to direct and promptly complete investment procedures and submit the National Assembly for consideration and decision on investment policies for national important projects and the amount of fund allocated for each project under the Law on Public Investment, not subdividing projects.

(Appendix IV to this Resolution)

Article 4. Principles for allocation of the medium-term investment fund plans from the state budget in the 2021-2025 period

1. The allocation of fund plans must comply with the Constitution, the Law on Public Investment, the Law on the State Budget, the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Resolution No. 973/2020/UBTVQH14 dated July 08, 2020, on the principles, criteria, and norms of allocating public investment using state budget for the 2021-2025 period and relevant documents.

2. Being consistent with the capacity of balancing public investment fund and financial capability; ensuring macro-balance and maintaining public debt safety.

3. Complying with the order of priority in allocating fund as prescribed by law, ensuring publicity, transparency in the allocation of public investment fund, contributing to promote administrative reform and practising thrift and combating waste.

4. Localities that are allocated funds from the central budget in the 2021- 2025 period must commit to arrange the missing funds from their local budgets and other lawful sources for completing projects on schedule. In case of increasing the total investment of a project compared to the total investment of the medium-term investment plan assigned by competent authorities, the localities shall balance funds to complete projects on schedule, ensuring the quality.

5. The foreign funding sources must be considered and balanced between borrowing demand and repayment capacity of ongoing and new projects.

6. Assurance of publicity, transparency, objectivity; resolutely eliminating the “ask-give” mechanism, fighting against negativity, corruption, and group interests.

Article 5. Order of priority in the allocation of the medium-term investment plan fund from the state budget in the 2021-2025 period

1. To allocate sufficient fund to pay outstanding basic construction debts under Clause 4, Article 101 of the Law on public investment.

2. To allocate sufficient fund to repay the advance fund that has not yet been refunded due to the insufficient fund.

3. To allocate fund for projects that have been completed, handed over, and put into use whose fund has not yet been allocated sufficiently; projects financed by ODA loans and concessional loans of foreign donors (including counterpart fund); the state’s investments in public-private partnership projects; projects in the transitional stage which are carried out according to approved schedules; projects expected to be completed in the planning period.

4. To allocate fund for performance of the master plan tasks.

5. To allocate fund for investment preparation to formulate, appraise, and decide on investment policies; and formulate, appraise and decide on investment in programs, projects.

6. To allocate sufficient fund for new projects which satisfy the requirements under Clause 5, Article 51 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 6. Solutions for implementation of the medium-term public investment plan the 2021-2025 period

1. To strengthen implementation of the Law on Public Investment, accelerate investment preparation, resolutely cut unnecessary procedures, assignment of estimates, disbursement of public investment capital associated with the explanation accountability of organizations, individuals, especially the heads.

2. To review and complete mechanisms, policies and regulations of the law on public investment and relevant laws to promptly remove difficulties, obstacles and improve the efficiency of public investment. To assign the Government to study, build a pilot project on separating ground clearance, resettlement from investment projects, and report to the National Assembly Standing Committee for submission to the National Assembly for consideration and decision.

3. To strengthen leadership, direction, promote decentralization, assignment, and division of duties, individualization of responsibilities along with coordination, supervision, inspection, performance evaluation and timely and strict reward, discipline. To resolutely reduce the number of new investment projects to focus on investing and completing approved or undergoing projects and constructions; strictly control the number of projects and the time to allocate fund to complete the projects under the Law on Public Investment, ensuring the objectives, efficiency, and continuity of public investment.

4. To focus on reviewing and resolutely eliminate inefficient projects, unnecessary and nonurgent projects, prioritize fund for key and urgent projects, create motivation for rapid and sustainable development. To improve the quality of project preparation and implementation, limit adjustments in the implementation process, ensure efficiency; strictly control the scope, scale, and total investment of each investment project according to the objectives, fields, and laws. To drastically tighten discipline, strengthen examination, inspection, audit, and supervision, post-inspection, strictly handle violations; strictly control objectives, effectively use investment fund to ensure fairness, publicity, transparency, fight against corruption and group interests.

5. To practice thrift and combat waste in public investment; strengthen the restructuring of state budget expenditure in the direction of speeding up the progress, the efficiency of implementing the policy of socialization for public non-business units, arranging and streamlining the state apparatus, reducing current expenditures, increasing the proportion of development investment expenditures.

6. To strictly manage the use of the contingent of 10% of fund the medium-term public investment plans from the state budget fund. Unallocated contingent fund may be only used when funding sources are ensured and allocated for necessary and urgent objectives under the Law on the State Budget and the Law on Public Investment.

Article 7. To assign the Government

1. To promptly complete dossiers and submit them to the National Assembly for consideration and decision on investment policies for national important projects under the law.

2. For expected investment projects in the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period funded by central budgets, the Government shall assign the medium-term public investment plans for the 2021-2025 period to projects that fully satisfy the conditions specified in Article 52 of the Law on Public Investment by the time the National Assembly approves the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period.

For projects that fail to satisfy the prescribed investment procedures and unallocated fund, the Government shall promptly complete investment procedures and report to the National Assembly Standing Committee for opinions before assigning the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period for each project under the law.

For coastal road projects, the Government shall review, carefully calculate the allocation of investment fund, and take appropriate solutions to ensure feasibility and efficient investment, avoid spreading, unfinished business.

3. To organize and direct ministries, central agencies, and localities to synchronously and determinedly take solutions to implement the medium-term public investment plan in the 2021-2025 period, and inspect and strictly handle violations.

4. To direct ministries, central and local agencies to review and take responsibility for data and allocate sufficient fund to pay outstanding basic construction debts, refund advance fund according to regulations.

5. The fund plans in 2017 and 2018 of 12 projects with a total fund of VND 4,118,884 billion are allowed to be prolonged to the 2021-2025 period. The time limit for implementation and disbursement is the end of December 31, 2022. Past this time limit, if fund is not fully disbursed, the plan and estimate shall be cancelled according to regulations.

(Appendix V to this Resolution)

6. With regard to balance local budget fund, localities shall be assigned annual public investment plans from the local budget balance based on actual revenue capacity, ensuring that the annual local budget deficit may not increase.

Article 8. Organization of implementation

1. The Government, ministries, central agencies and localities shall implement this Resolution within their respective functions and tasks.

2. The National Assembly Standing Committee, the Finance-Budget Committee, the Ethnic Council and other committees of the National Assembly, National Assembly delegations and National Assembly deputies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, the State Audit Office of Vietnam shall supervise the implementation of this Resolution within their tasks and powers.

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This Resolution was passed on July 28, 2021, by the XV^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 1^st session.

The Chairman of the National Assembly
Vuong Dinh Hue