Over the past seven months, the Ministry of Construction has disbursed nearly 12.9 trillion VND, equivalent to more than 33% of the plan. Cumulative disbursement is expected to exceed 16 trillion VND by the end of August, equivalent to 41%. From now until the end of the year, a substantial volume of planned capital remains to be disbursed, compelling project owners under the Ministry of Construction to disburse an average of more than 5 trillion VND each month.
Dismantling the "bottleneck" in material supply
Since early July, engineer Mac Van Nghiep, Director of the Project Executive Board for the Cho Moi–Bac Kan Expressway Expansion Project under Project Management Board 2 of the Ministry of Construction, has been shuttling continuously to inspect and expedite progress across the construction site while also attending meetings with leaders of local departments and agencies to address and eliminate the "bottleneck" in the supply of stone, thereby creating momentum for higher output in the final months of the year.
By early August, the project had disbursed only 554 billion VND, equivalent to 37% of its annual plan, while monthly disbursement had reached around 98–100%.
"Construction progress has been delayed mainly because of a shortage of stone, with supplies meeting only 45–50% of demand. Quarries in the northern part of the province have basically reached their annual capacity and cannot meet the needs of construction projects in the area or neighbouring localities. In addition, oil supplies are also showing signs of becoming limited, forcing construction units to travel widely in search of additional sources. Some contractors are extremely concerned because skilled engineers and workers are being recruited by major real estate and construction businesses with salaries two to three times higher, resulting in a serious shortage of key personnel," engineer Mac Van Nghiep noted.
The Cho Moi–Bac Kan Expressway Expansion Project has a total investment of more than 5.75 trillion VND, a length of 28.8 km, and a four-lane design. Over the past nearly two months, difficulties related to materials, labour, and adverse weather have caused construction activity to decelerate significantly. In May and June, project disbursement stood at 160–180 billion VND, before falling to around 60 billion VND in July.
Following the direction of the Provincial Party Committee and the Chairman of the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee, the Project Executive Board has directly held meetings and discussions with relevant parties to resolve difficulties related to material supplies, seek solutions to site clearance issues, and strive to complete clearance of the main route in August 2026.
A representative of the Department of Planning and Finance under the Ministry of Construction reported that, according to updated reports from investors, by the end of July 2026, the Ministry had disbursed approximately 12.864 trillion VND, equivalent to 33.1% of the plan. Under the registered plan for August 2026, investors and project management boards need to disburse nearly 3.2 trillion VND, with cumulative disbursement expected to reach nearly 16.1 trillion VND by the end of August, equivalent to 41% of the plan.
Dismantling obstacles and accelerating construction progress
"From now until the end of the year, the amount of planned capital that remains to be disbursed is very large, averaging more than 5 trillion VND per month, while rainy and stormy weather is expected to persist. In addition, based on our monitoring and compilation of the implementation of plans by investors, some projects face a risk of failing to disburse their full annual allocations, amounting to around 4.422 trillion VND. For example, the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board is expected to leave more than 2.6 trillion VND undistributed, while the Maritime and Inland Waterway Project Management Board may leave around 372 billion VND undistributed," a representative of the Department of Planning and Finance expressed concern.
The tense situation at the construction sites of many projects demonstrates that these concerns remain acute. Torrential and prolonged rains from mid-June until now at the project to renovate and expand National Highway 2 (the Vinh Yen–Viet Tri section) have left both the Project Executive Board under the Maritime and Inland Waterway Project Management Board and contractors deeply concerned.
Most of the construction sites have only recently been handed over; some sections are undergoing roadbed construction, while at many locations the organic soil layer has yet to be completely removed. Continuous heavy rain has virtually paralysed construction, leaving machinery idle while workers' wages still have to be paid.
"The project is not particularly large in scale (nearly 1.26 trillion VND), but difficulties have arisen at every stage of implementation. Since March, conflict in the Middle East has driven oil prices sharply higher, while the prices of many construction materials have increased three- to fourfold. This section of National Highway 2 passes through a densely populated area, making site clearance complicated, while heavy traffic creates a high risk of accidents. Many unfavourable external factors in recent months have put the project investors and contractors in a precarious position. Just as we managed to temporarily resolve the site clearance issues, prolonged heavy rain arrived. Meeting the Ministry of Construction's target of completing the project by the end of this year is now an extremely challenging goal," stated Luu Viet Khoa, Deputy Director of the Maritime and Inland Waterway Project Management Board.
Tran Duy Dong, Chairman of the Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee, recently chaired a meeting with relevant agencies and directed them to resolve difficulties and accelerate construction progress.
At the meeting, he instructed the investors and relevant units to urgently coordinate and take responsibility for the progress of each task; build specific construction plans; complete the handover of the entire site in August; finalise resettlement arrangements and the relocation of water pipelines in September; mobilise maximum human and equipment resources; and strive to complete the project on schedule.
The total public investment capital disbursement plan of the Ministry of Construction for 2026 is nearly 39 trillion VND. Without strong and decisive support measures from localities, many key transport projects will struggle to meet their disbursement targets, affecting the country's growth objectives.
