Hanoi (VNA) – The disbursement of public investment sourced from the State budget in April was estimated at 30.4 trillion VND (1.32 billion USD), a year-on-year surge of 23.9 percent, and reaching the highest monthly level since 2017, according to the General Statistics Office.

During January-April, 98.7 trillion VND worth of investment from the State budget was disbursed, accounting for 21.5 percent of the annual plan, and rising 16.3 percent from the same time in 2020.

Of the total figure, 15.1 trillion VND was disbursed by central agencies, or 19.6 percent of the yearly plan, and up 25.5 percent year-on-year. The remainder was disbursed by localities, making up 21.9 percent of the plan, and rising 14.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the amount of public investment capital disbursed in the four-month period reached more than 86 trillion VND, or 18.65 percent of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister. The rate of disbursement of domestic capital was 20.74 percent and foreign capital – 2.02 percent, much lower than the same period last year.

Localities and sector with high disbursement rate were Thai Binh province (76.74 percent), Ha Nam province (50.57 percent), the State Audit (46.89 percent), Hung Yen province (43.21 percent), Thanh Hoa province (42.39 percent), and Quang Ninh province (39.62 percent).

Earlier this year, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said public investment would focus on key national projects with important roles in enhancing regional links and creating new drivers and room for economic growth.

Last year saw the highest public investment disbursement rate in 2016-2020 as the Government identified public investment as a major driver for growth in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic./.