Accelerating public investment disbursement to drive economic growth

A “dual lever” for Growth

According to the Department of Finance, by the end of May 2026, Hai Phong had disbursed VND 12.856 trillion in public investment capital, equivalent to 33.1% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister. This disbursement rate is nearly double the national average.

The city's consistently high public investment disbursement performance, which regularly places Hai Phong among the leading localities nationwide, has made an important contribution to economic growth. In the first quarter of 2026, the city's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) increased by 11.21%. Although this fell short of the scenario target of 12%, it remained one of the highest growth rates in the country, ranking third nationwide and first among Vietnam’s centrally-run cities.

Notably, Hai Phong was ranked among the five localities with the highest quality of economic governance in Vietnam in 2025, according to an assessment by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

However, significant challenges remain if the city is to achieve its 2026 GRDP growth target of 13% or higher. Early in the year, the conflict in the Middle East caused substantial fluctuations in fuel prices. At the same time, U.S. tariff policies affected import and export activities. To compensate for the first-quarter growth shortfall, Hai Phong has adjusted its second-quarter 2026 growth target upward to 13.54%.

When businesses are still facing challenges in production and business activities and consumer demand has yet to fully recover, public investment has been identified by the city as the primary driver of economic growth.

Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong People's Committee Le Trung Kien has repeatedly emphasized that, in the context of ongoing economic difficulties, public investment serves as the key mechanism for steering and sustaining the city’s growth momentum.

This year's public investment capital is primarily directed toward large-scale infrastructure projects with strong spillover effects. Therefore, accelerating land clearance and construction activities financed by public investment is expected to stimulate production and consumption, generating both immediate and long-term economic growth.

Mr. Dao Sy Ngoc, General Director of the Hai Phong Transport Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board, said that in 2026 the unit was assigned more than VND 12 trillion in public investment capital. To ensure disbursement targets are achieved in line with the city’s requirements, the board has developed detailed implementation schedules for each project on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. As a result, disbursement progress has remained on track. By the end of May 2026, the unit had disbursed 44% of its allocated capital plan.

Thanks to the city’s strong direction to accelerate public investment disbursement from the very beginning of the year, many project owners and local authorities have proactively addressed bottlenecks and expedited project implementation. Several units have achieved high disbursement rates, including the Hai Phong Agricultural Construction Investment Project Management Board, which reached 41% of its annual capital plan. Meanwhile, the communes of Gia Phuc, Hong Chau, Bac An Phu, An Khanh, Nghi Duong, and An Phong Ward all recorded disbursement rates exceeding 50% of their allocated 2026 investment capital plans.

Disbursing capital, stimulating growth

The period from now until year-end will be a crucial acceleration phase for construction sites and development projects across the city.

To ensure the smooth flow of public investment capital, urgent progress in site clearance is required from local authorities. In 2026 alone, approximately VND 2.3 trillion allocated for land acquisition and clearance related to projects managed by the Hai Phong Transport Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board remains to be disbursed.

Several major projects continue to face site clearance challenges, including Ring Road No. 2 and the expansion of Nguyen Truong To Street, as well as the construction of the road connecting National Highway 5 and National Highway 10 through Kien An and Vinh Bao. The project management board has called on local authorities to take more decisive action in resolving land clearance issues and to hand over cleared sites as soon as possible so that contractors can accelerate the implementation of these key projects.

Speaking at a conference held on June 1 to review the draft report on the second-round inspection and supervision results conducted by the Politburo and the Secretariat regarding the Standing Committee of the Hai Phong Party Committee, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung instructed the city to vigorously and effectively implement National Assembly Resolution No. 226 on piloting special mechanisms and policies for development. He urged Hai Phong to proactively coordinate with central ministries and agencies and boldly propose amendments that would create stronger institutional mechanisms for the city’s development.

The Prime Minister also requested the city to review its growth scenario for the remainder of the year and assign specific targets and responsibilities to departments, agencies, communes, wards, and special administrative units. Members of the Standing Committee are to be assigned responsibility for monitoring particular localities and sectors, ensuring the principle of “six clarities”: clear personnel, clear tasks, clear timelines, clear responsibilities, clear authority, and clear outcomes.

Regarding public investment disbursement, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung tasked Hai Phong with achieving a 100% disbursement rate for its 2026 public investment plan. The city is also required to coordinate the preparation and completion of its medium-term public investment plan, strictly evaluate the socio-economic effectiveness of projects, and reduce the number of projects by at least 30%, concentrating resources on regional connectivity projects and those with significant spillover effects.

Between now and the end of the 2026 fiscal year, Hai Phong plans to disburse more than VND 24.1 trillion for infrastructure works and development projects. Under the city's growth scenario, GRDP targets for the remaining quarters of 2026 remain ambitious, with projected growth rates of 13.95% in the third quarter and 13.11% in the fourth quarter.

The requirement to achieve full public investment disbursement as quickly as possible is no longer merely a performance assessment criterion; it has become a mandatory task for government agencies, local authorities, and project investors. Meeting this objective will require decisive action in land clearance, faster construction progress—particularly on key projects—and the prompt resolution of shortages in construction and land-filling materials. These efforts are expected to play a critical role in helping Hai Phong achieve its 2026 GRDP growth target of 13% or higher.

Minh Khoi