VietNamNet Bridge – Local authorities and ministries are drawing up large public investment projects, even though the state budget remains modest.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has urged local authorities to submit their 2016-2020 public investment plans. MPI Minister Bui Quang Vinh said the first version of the draft must be submitted no later than February 28.

Local authorities whose plans are late would be understood as having no demand for capital for public investments over the next five years, according to Dau Tu newspaper.

The newspaper said that MPI is making every effort to stop the “living beyond their means” situation.

Minister Vinh said after having a quick look at several reports, he realized that some ministries and branches projected huge public investments with estimated investment capital 20-30 times higher than the budget the state can allocate.

He found the same high allocations in reports submitted by local authorities.

Vinh said at a conference held recently that he “felt dizzy” when he saw the reports on 2016-2020 public investments, and that he felt a “terribly hard pressure”.

“We have VND35 trillion in total. But one ministry has already demanded VND20 trillion,” he said.

The minister said the Ministry of Transport (MOT) has asked to allocate VND71 billion as reciprocal capital for ODA (official development assistance) transport projects in 2016-2020.

In 2014, MOT asked for VND20 trillion from the state budget for reciprocal capital for ODA projects. However, MPI could only allocate VND2 trillion to MOT, while the remaining funds were raised through bond issuance.

Vinh signs the decisions on allocating budgets for ministries and local authorities. he said sometimes does not know how much money the state budget has to disburse.

“We can only make decisions on budget allocation after we are informed about the money we have. This explains why we cannot effectively plan public investments,” Vinh said, adding that it is necessary to change the current mechanism.

“We need to draw up medium- and long-term public investment plans,” he said.

Dr. Le Dang Doanh, a renowned economist, noted that the money for public investment projects has been used in a haphazard and ineffective way.

“The lack of discipline in spending the state’s money is one of the major reasons that has caused us to get bogged down in debt,” Doanh noted.

Local newspapers recently stirred up the public with news that the Dan Phuong district theatre in Hanoi is being built with huge investment capital of VND117 billion. There are numerous Dan Phuong theatre projects throughout the country.

Dat Viet