Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has directed ministries, sectors and localities to strengthen the management and improve the efficiency of official development assistance (ODA) and foreign concessional loans, while accelerating their disbursement to support the country's goal of achieving double-digit economic growth.

Asphalt paving is underway on the Binh Khanh bridge approach in Binh Khanh commune, Ho Chi Minh City.

Under Directive No. 27/CT-TTg dated June 25, 2026, the PM called for stronger management and higher-quality preparation, appraisal and approval of ODA- and concessional loan-funded projects, with the goal of fully disbursing the annual public investment plan assigned by the Government leader.

The directive stresses that improving the efficiency and accelerating the disbursement of public investment, including ODA and foreign concessional loans, will not only drive sustainable economic growth and safeguard major economic balances, but also strengthen discipline and improve the management and use of foreign capital throughout the 2026–2030 period.

However, according to the Ministry of Finance, as of June 15, disbursement of foreign-funded public investment under the revenue-and-expenditure recording mechanism had reached just 9.99% of the assigned annual plan, well below the disbursement rate for domestically funded public investment.

The disbursement rate for local governments' on-lending programmes stood at only 8.98%.

Notably, several ministries, central agencies and localities had yet to disburse any foreign capital.

The directive attributes the persistent delays primarily to weak investment planning and slow completion of domestic investment procedures, leaving projects without completed work eligible for payment and slowing overall implementation.

The PM ordered that the allocation, management and use of ODA and concessional loans be focused and prioritised for nationally important projects, key infrastructure works and projects with significant spillover effects that can generate long-term growth and promote balanced regional development.

Ministries, sectors and localities were instructed to comprehensively review medium-term foreign-funded public investment demand for the 2026–2030 period, ensuring projects are thoroughly assessed in terms of necessity, socio-economic and financial efficiency, debt repayment capacity, capital absorption capacity, feasibility and sustainability, while expediting preparation of the medium-term public investment plan for the period.

The directive also requires authorities to refrain from proposing or approving loans or projects that are unnecessary, inefficient, infeasible, inconsistent with development planning, duplicative; lack clearly identified funding sources; or carry risks of waste and losses.

It also warns against registering capital demand beyond implementation capacity, spreading investment too thinly, or proposing projects that cannot be completed on schedule.

Projects should be categorised based on their disbursement performance, with priority given to those making good progress, key projects nearing completion and operation, and projects approaching the end of their loan disbursement period.

The PM further directed that no annual foreign capital allocation be provided to projects that are not ready for disbursement.

Agencies and units responsible for prolonged disbursement delays, losses, waste or misconduct that remain unresolved will not be permitted to launch new projects.

The directive requires ministries, sectors and localities to promptly review and allocate detailed 2026 foreign-funded public investment plans for individual programmes and projects.

Capital should also be reallocated from slow-disbursing projects to those demonstrating strong implementation progress and additional funding needs.

Authorities were instructed to improve investment planning and project preparation, accelerate investment and construction procedures, ensure sufficient construction materials and counterpart funding, and create the completed work volume needed for timely disbursement.

The PM also called for prompt resolution of issues within the authority of ministries and localities under the ongoing decentralisation process, while strengthening coordination with the Ministry of Finance, relevant agencies and development partners to address obstacles, particularly for projects requiring adjustments to investment policies or loan agreements.

For projects with persistently low disbursement rates, repeated loan extensions or prolonged implementation, heads of supervising agencies must directly oversee reviews, identify the causes and responsibilities, and formulate concrete remedial measures.

The directive requires tighter inspection and supervision throughout the entire project cycle, from project selection, preparation and approval to capital allocation, implementation, management, utilisation and disbursement, ensuring foreign capital is used for the intended purposes in a transparent, efficient and economical manner.

Ministries, sectors and localities must promptly detect, prevent and strictly handle corruption, misconduct, vested interests, bid rigging, inflated investment costs and contract values, as well as other violations causing losses or waste.

Authorities are also required to regularly review projects suffering from slow implementation, low disbursement, repeated adjustments, prolonged timelines or increased investment costs, identify the underlying causes and assign responsibility.

Project owners, project management units and individuals found deliberately delaying implementation or causing losses, waste or misconduct will face strict disciplinary measures.

The PM also ordered strict compliance with periodic reporting requirements on foreign capital disbursement.

The Ministry of Finance was tasked with proactively working with development partners to simplify and shorten procedures for disbursing ODA and concessional loans.

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