13 projects need to be resolved due to land clearance problems
According to the Department of Finance of Can Tho City, by the end of September 2025, the disbursement rate of public investment capital in the city will only reach 34.5% of the plan, 15.5% lower than the national average. In 2025, Can Tho was allocated a total capital of more than VND 27,682 billion, but by the end of the third quarter, only about VND 9,551 billion had been disbursed. Of which, there are 67 key projects, with a scale of over 100 billion VND with a total capital of over 20,200 billion VND, the disbursement rate has only reached 29.13%.
Mr. Duong Van Ngoanh - Acting Director of the Department of Finance of Can Tho City said that the main reason is the problem of compensation, support, resettlement and site handover, causing many projects to be behind schedule, including 13 projects that need to remove difficulties.
A typical example is the DT917 Upgrade and Expansion Project, which started construction in early 2022, but there are still 47 cases that have not been completely resolved, mainly due to the lack of consensus on compensation prices, having received money but not yet allocated land. The delay in handing over the site makes it impossible to complete the project according to the schedule for the period 2021-2025.
Similarly, the National Highway 91 Upgrade and Expansion Project (Km0 - Km7) still has 565 cases that have not yet had a decision to reclaim land, of which 98 cases have not been considered for legal status, 156 cases have not been approved by the Compensation Council and 496 cases have not yet approved the plan. 152 households have approved but have not paid. In particular, the Bus Station - Tra Noc Intersection section has 217 households and organizations affected, of which 108 households have not paid and 109 households have received money but have not yet handed over the site.
The Department of Finance stated that the delay in disbursement not only reduces capital efficiency, but also directly affects the progress of infrastructure development, transportation and economic growth of the city.
Difficulty because capital allocated exceeds demand
Mr. Le Minh Cuong - Director of the Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic and Agricultural Works of Can Tho City (PMU) informed - in 2025, the Board was assigned about VND 15,760 billion, only disbursed more than VND 5,000 billion, reaching 32%. "This year, it is not possible to disburse 100% because the capital allocated exceeds actual demand, because this is the last year of the medium-term period while many projects last until 2027," he said.
Mr. Cuong cited that the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway Component 4 Project (in the old Soc Trang province) was allocated more than VND 3,400 billion (including capital for 2026 and 2027) while the project is expected to be put into operation in 2027. "About 100% of the capital for the entire project while the progress is still long has caused the unit to fall into a passive position. Allocating capital beyond the implementation capacity is an impossible task. No matter how much effort we put in, we cannot disburse all this year," Mr. Cuong shared.
In addition, the weak capacity of some contractors also slowed down the progress. At component 2 of this expressway, a contractor with 50% of the contract volume cut is being recovered to hand over to another unit. Component 3 has 2 subcontractors and component 4 has 4 weak contractors who are also undergoing procedures to terminate the contract.
The solution proposed by the Project Management Board is to completely handle weak contractors, add strong contractors, and increase 3 shifts to speed up progress. At the same time, coordinate with the Land Fund Development Center and localities to speed up site clearance, both creating construction conditions and promoting capital disbursement.
To remove difficulties, the Department of Finance of Can Tho City recommends that the City People's Committee direct investors to request contractors to make a detailed schedule, clearly identify the timeline, commit to completing each item, and mobilize human resources and equipment according to schedule.
Investors need to regularly control progress, strictly handle violating contractors by warning, cutting or transferring volumes; in serious cases, terminating contracts. Strengthen site inspection, rectification, urging construction, promptly removing obstacles, especially in site clearance, to ensure progress and efficiency of public investment.
