(VOVWORLD) - As of mid-April, Da Nang city had disbursed nearly 680 million USD, 13% of the target set for this year. Public investment disbursement in the first quarter was up 300% from the same period last year and 400% from the first quarter in 2018. To counter economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Da Nang has stepped up public investment to boost employment.
 The busy junction west of Tran Thi Ly Bridge is upgraded(Photo: VOV) |
Despite the pandemic, Da Nang city has started construction of projects worth tens of thousands of dollars, including a road and bridge across the Co Co River and a west ring road and bridge to improve the city’s transport infrastructure, as well as the Hoa Lien Water Plant and water improvement projects in Son Tra district.
Le Van Lam, Director of the Management Board of Da Nang's Transport Construction Investment Projects, said the disbursement rate of many projects has increased because investors and contractors have pushed construction progress.
“Based on the municipal administration’s capital plan, we have allocated money for each construction, prepared investment plans, and sped up the selection of contractors for the works. Unfinished works will continue as the set progress,” said Lam.
The city's achievements are thanks to assigning to functional units specific tasks ranging from investment preparations to contractor selection and deployment to acceptance of the completed work.
Specific requirements are set for key projects regarding commencement of construction, responsibilities of the leaders, and sanctions on organizations and individuals for slowing the work’s progress.
Tran Phuoc Son, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, said that as Da Nang’s public investment will double this year, local sectors and agencies should double their efforts to clear land for contractors.
“There are projects such as the upgrade of road DT601 which have selected contractors but haven’t begun construction due to a lack of construction premises. This is the main bottleneck of the project implementation process,” said Son.
According to the municipal Statistics Office, since 2016 1% of increased investment capital has contributed about 0.08% to the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP).
Da Nang is considering changing its regulations on land clearance, compensation, decentralization, and administrative procedure reform.
Truong Quang Nghia, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee, acknowledged the municipal administration’s efforts to fine-tune procedures for multiple key projects in the first quarter.
“Our public investment disbursement was high compared to recent years but we still have lots of projects that need specific plans. One of the reasons for project delays is slow land clearance. People’s Committees at all levels and their leaders should closely monitor the disbursement of public investment projects,” said Nghia.
To further boost public investment, Da Nang has asked departments, agencies, investors, project management units, and localities to accelerate compensation for land clearance, complete procedures for contractor selection for key projects, and increase construction progress.