ĐBP - Currently, Điện Biên province is seeing numerous off-budget investment projects falling behind schedule, affecting land resources, investment capital, development opportunities, and the business investment environment.

According to the review results of the provincial People’s Committee, by the end of 2025, there were 28 off-budget investment projects behind schedule in the province, capitalizing a total registered capital of over VND 11,391 billion. Within these, the urban development and housing sector logged 8 projects with a total capital of over VND 4,614 billion, while the agricultural sector had 6 projects totaling more than VND 3,136 billion. Furthermore, the energy sector saw 8 projects with a total capital of over VND 3,109 billion, and the remainder belonged to other fields.

Looking at the above figures, it is obvious that the social resources currently “imprisoned” in delayed projects are massive. Not only has tens of trillions of VND in investment capital not yet entered circulation, but many planned land plots remain vacant, resources are not effectively exploited, and opportunities for production, business development, and job creation have also decelerated. This directly impacts the efficiency of land use, reduces the attractiveness of the investment environment, and simultaneously slows down the implementation process of the province’s socio-economic development goals.

The review indicates that there are multiple causes leading to the delayed progress of projects. Some face objective difficulties in site clearance and finalizing investment procedures, yet quite a few are delayed due to a lack of proactivity from investors. Correctly identifying the root causes for each project group serves as the foundation for the province to select appropriate solutions, avoiding scattered and ineffective handling.

Within the urban development and housing project group, site clearance remains the greatest “knot”. This is the decisive stage to finalize land procedures, determine financial obligations, and hand over clean land to investors for construction deployment. A delay at just a single link will drag back the entire project schedule.

The Mường Thanh A Urban Residential Area project serves as a typical example. The project is scaled for a population of around 668 people, spanning 2,025.67 m² of public land which includes land for a cultural house, a children’s playground, resettlement residential land, square greenery, traffic infrastructure, and commercial row houses, with a total investment capital of VND 613.874 billion. According to the investment policy, the execution duration for project construction investment is 24 months, running from the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2026. However, at the time of the review in early June 2026, over 70% of the project’s area had yet to be handed over due to snags in compensation and site clearance work. Similarly, for the Him Lam 7 Urban Residential Area project, the plan scheduled the finalization of investment preparation procedures in the first quarter of 2025 and construction deployment from the first quarter of 2025 to the second quarter of 2026, yet to date, the project has only basically completed site clearance work.

Discussing this issue, Bùi Mạnh Thắng, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance, noted that the majority of delayed urban projects currently face snags during the investment preparation stage, particularly in site clearance, rather than stemming from the capacity of investors. He added that many enterprises desire to receive land handovers to deploy their projects, but cooperation between specialized agencies and localities in some places has not yet satisfied progress requirements.

Meanwhile, in the agricultural sector, the causes primarily originate from the enterprises’ side. The 6 projects with a total registered capital of over VND 3,136 billion are all behind schedule because investors have not deployed them according to their commitments.

The BHL Điện Biên Cassava Starch Processing Factory project stands as a prominent case. Following the approval of the investment policy, the province completed site clearance, land allocation, land leasing, detailed planning approval, and executed land policies. However, the enterprise remains slow in finalizing the remaining procedures and has not deployed construction according to schedule. Nguyễn Thành Trung, Chairman of the Núa Ngam commune People’s Committee, noted that the local government has actively coordinated with specialized agencies and the investor to finalize items within their authority, yet to date, the ground on the project site remains untouched. Alongside objective difficulties, the responsibility and capacity of investors are also factors that need to be fairly reviewed and evaluated.

Based on the review results, the provincial People’s Committee has constructed a specific handling roadmap for each project group. For urban projects, the core focus is placed on accelerating compensation and site clearance work while strengthening coordination among departments, sectors, localities, and the Land Fund Development Center to soon hand over clean ground to investors. For agricultural projects, authorities focus on reviewing progress, evaluating the execution capacity of each enterprise, and considering adjustments to scale and schedule or handling in accordance with regulations for long-delayed projects. Regarding the energy sector, along with supporting enterprises to untie difficulties over investment procedures, the province also establishes a determined stance to revoke projects with slow implementation caused by subjective reasons to avoid wasting resources and open up opportunities for capable investors.

Reality shows that this review drive by Điện Biên province does not merely aim to “call roll” delayed projects but heads toward a higher goal of unlocking development resources. Categorizing projects by group of causes and clearly identifying the responsibilities of each agency, locality, and investor demonstrates a transformation in management mindset, moving from situational handling to performance-based governance.

Over VND 11,391 billion in registered investment capital tied up in delayed projects represents not just the enterprises’ resources but also the province’s development resources. Once “bottlenecks” regarding site clearance, investment procedures, and implementation responsibilities are cleared, projects will secure conditions to accelerate, generating more jobs, increasing budget revenue, expanding urban spaces, and developing industry, agriculture, and energy. That also stands as a vital foundation for Điện Biên to elevate the quality of its investment environment, efficiently mobilize social resources, and create room for rapid, sustainable growth targets during the 2026-2030 period.