Slow allocation of funds due to material price hikes has caused hundreds of projects in central Quang Nam Province to grind to a halt, the provincial state treasury said yesterday.

Rises in material prices caused contractors to slow down the construction process to wait for official approvals for project budget increases.

Almost VND910 billion (US$54.8 million) of the total VND1.9 trillion ($114.5 million) allotted to Quang Nam's 2008 budget for infrastructure investment is on hold, while 172 projects have received no money.

 Source: Thanhnien News

Low compensation impedes National Road 50 upgrade

The upgrade of a section of National Road No. 50 from HCMC to the Mekong Delta's province of Long An and Tien Giang cannot start up this month as scheduled due to low site clearance as the Finance Ministry has not disbursed more funds to compensate those people affected by the project, Tuoi Tre reports.

 Source: Saigon Times