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THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY |
THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM |
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Law No. 135/2025/QH15 |
Hanoi, December 10, 2025 |
Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as amended by the Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;
The National Assembly of Vietnam hereby promulgates the Law on Construction.
This Law deals with construction activities; rights, obligations and responsibilities of authorities, organizations and individuals in performing construction activities, and state management of construction activities.
This Decree applies to Vietnamese authorities, organizations and individuals; foreign organizations and foreigners performing construction activities in the territory of Vietnam.
For the purposes of this Law, these terms are construed as follows:
1. “construction activities” include formulation, verification, appraisal and approval of construction investment projects and construction designs; construction survey; management of grant of construction permits; execution of construction works and supervision thereof; management of construction investment projects; management of capability to perform construction activities; management of construction investment costs; management of construction contracts; acceptance testing and transfer of works for putting into operation or use; final statement of investment capital; warranty and maintenance of construction works, and other activities related to construction works.
2. “construction work” means a product constructed according to design, created by human labor and with construction materials and equipment installed therein, and affixed to land, which possibly includes underground and surface components, underwater and water surface components.
3. “technical infrastructure system” includes traffic works, telecommunications works, works for energy supply, public lighting, water supply and drainage, solid waste collection and treatment, cemetery, and other technical infrastructure works.
4. “social infrastructure system” includes works for healthcare, culture, education, sports, commerce, service provision, parks and other works intended for public use.
5. “investment decision-maker” means an individual or representative of an authority, organization or enterprise who is competent to approve projects and make construction investment decisions in accordance with regulations of law.
6. “construction investment project” means a collection of proposals concerning use of capital for performing construction activities, including construction of new works, upgrading, expansion, repair, renovation or relocation of existing works with a view to maintaining, developing and raising the quality of the works or products/services within a given period of time and at predetermined costs.
7. “urban area construction investment project” means a project on investment in and construction of a new urban area or renovation and upgrading of an existing urban area, ensuring the synchronization of technical and social infrastructure systems with housing works according to urban and rural plannings approved by competent authorities.
8. “construction consultancy activities” include formulation of construction investment projects, construction survey, design, verification, inspection, testing, cost management, project management, execution supervision, and other consulting tasks related to construction activities.
9. “formulation of construction investment project” includes the preparation of a pre-feasibility study report, investment policy proposal report, or project proposal to serve as the basis for making a decision on or approving an investment policy; the preparation of a construction investment feasibility study report (hereinafter referred to as “feasibility study report”) or construction investment technical-economic report (hereinafter referred to as “technical-economic report”) to serve as the basis for making an investment decision, as well as the performance of other necessary tasks for the preparation of investment and construction.
10. “preliminary design” means a design that presents ideas for the construction of a work, technological lines, and equipment.
11. “fundamental design” means a design that presents the primary technical specifications in conformity with applicable standards and technical regulations.
12. “Front-End Engineering Design (FEED)” means a design that is prepared for a project having technological design to provide specific requirements regarding technological plans and technical specifications of technological equipment; demonstrates solutions, technical specifications and main materials in conformity with applicable standards and technical regulations.
13. “engineering design” means a design that fully presents solutions, technical specifications and materials used in conformity with applicable standards and technical regulations.
14. “construction drawing design” means a design that fully presents technical specifications, materials used and structural details in conformity with applicable standards and technical regulations, ensuring all conditions for execution of a construction work.
15. “verification” means a process by which an organization or individual examines, assesses and draws conclusions about necessary professional contents during the preparation and implementation of a construction investment project at the request of the investment decision-maker, project owner, or specialized construction agency.
16. “appraisal” means a process by which the investment decision-maker, project owner, specialized construction agency, or appraisal council organizes and carries out examination and assessment of necessary contents during the preparation and implementation of a construction investment project to serve as the basis for the competent authority, organization or person to consider making construction investment decision or approving construction design.
17. “authorities in charge of state management of construction activities” (hereinafter referred to as “construction authorities”) include Ministry of Construction of Vietnam, People’s Committees of provinces or cities (hereinafter referred to as “provincial-level People’s Committees”) and People’s Committees of communes, wards or special zones (hereinafter referred to as “commune-level People’s Committees”).
18. “specialized construction work-managing Ministry” means a Ministry tasked to manage the investment in and construction of works in the construction sector under its management in accordance with provisions of this Law, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Ministry of Construction.
19. “specialized construction agency” means a specialized agency assigned to manage the construction and affiliated to a specialized construction work-managing Ministry, provincial-level People’s Committee, commune-level People’s Committee; management board of an industrial park, export processing zone, hi-tech zone or economic zone, or another agency according the Government’s regulations.
20. “specialized agency affiliated to investment decision-maker” means an agency or organization that has expertise relevant to the nature and contents of a project and is tasked by the investment decision-maker with appraisal.
21. “construction permit” means a document granted by a competent authority to a project owner for construction of a new work, or repair, renovation or relocation of an existing work.
22. “execution of construction work” means the process of carrying out the construction of and installation of construction equipment and technological equipment in a work; and the demolition of a construction work.
23. “construction equipment” means equipment installed in a construction work according to its construction design.
24. “technological equipment” means equipment included in the technological line installed in a construction work according to its technological design.
25. “contractor in construction activities” (hereinafter referred to as “contractor”) means an organization or individual, or a consortium or joint venture established by organization(s) and/or individual(s), that engages in performance of construction activities under a construction contract.
26. “main contractor in construction activities” (hereinafter referred to as “main contractor”) means a contractor that enters into a construction contract directly with the project owner.
27. “subcontractor in construction activities” (hereinafter referred to as “subcontractor”) means a contractor that enters into a construction contract with a main contractor.
28. “foreign contractor” means an organization duly established under the law of a foreign country or an individual holding foreign nationality that engages in the conclusion and management of a construction contract in Vietnam. A foreign contractor may be a main contractor or subcontractor.
29. “construction work incident” means a damage that exceeds the allowable safety limit, putting the construction work or supporting structures for the execution of the work at risk of collapse, or resulting in the partial or total collapse of the work during the execution of the construction work or its operation and use.
30. “danger zones in execution of construction work” mean areas within or surrounding the construction site where potential hazards may arise and cause harm or damage to human, the construction work, property, equipment and/or facilities during the execution process; these zones are determined according to applicable standards, technical regulations and measures for execution of the construction work.
Article 4. Application of Law on Construction and relevant laws
1. Any construction activities performed in the territory of Vietnam must comply with provisions of the Law on Construction.
2. Contents about construction contracts which are not specified in this Law shall comply with provisions on contracts laid down in the Law on Bidding, the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment and the Civil Code.
3. If any provisions of this Law are different from those of the Law on Investment regarding construction investment projects implemented following special investment procedures, the latter shall apply.
4. If any provisions of this Law are different from those of the Law on Railway Transport regarding projects on investment in and construction of national and local railway lines, the latter shall apply.
5. If any law or resolution passed by the National Assembly of Vietnam after the date of entry into force of this Law needs to include regulations on construction activities other than those laid down in this Law, cases of compliance or non-compliance with regulations of this Law must be specified.
Article 5. Basic principles of construction activities
1. Ensure that construction activities are performed according to relevant plannings and designs, and in a manner that protects landscape and environment; suits local natural and social conditions as well as cultural and historical characteristics; ensures the stable life of people; combines socio-economic development with national defense and security, and response to climate change.
2. Rationally use resources and natural resources available in the area where the project is located, ensuring proper purposes, subjects and sequence of construction investment.
3. Comply with applicable standards and technical regulations on construction activities.
4. Ensure the safety and quality of construction works, human lives and health, and cause no harm or damage to property of other organizations and individuals; ensure the compliance with regulations on fire safety, and environmental protection.
5. Ensure the synchronous construction of items within each construction work, as well as the synchronization of construction works with technical and social infrastructure systems.
6. Ensure the openness, transparency and efficiency; prevent and combat corruption, waste and misconduct in construction activities.
7. Clearly distinguish the state management of construction activities from the management roles of investment decision-makers and project owners in a manner suitable to each form of investment.
Article 6. Types and grades of construction works
1. Types of construction works shall be determined by structural characteristics and functions of the construction works.
2. Grades of construction works shall be determined for each type of construction works, including:
a) Grades of construction works serving the management of construction activities as prescribed by this Law shall be determined based on their scale, importance and technical specifications, including special grade, grade I, grade II, grade III and grade IV, except the case specified in point b of this clause.
The Minister of Construction shall elaborate this point;
b) Grades of construction works serving the construction design are provided for in applicable standards and technical regulations; grades of construction works serving other management tasks shall be determined in accordance with relevant laws.
Article 7. Standards and technical regulations on application of science, technology, and digital transformation to construction activities
1. Standards shall be applied to construction activities following the rule of voluntariness, except those standards referred to in technical regulations or other relevant legislative documents.
2. Standards applied to construction investment projects or construction works must be considered and approved by investment decision-makers or project owners in conformity with the construction investment process, ensuring satisfaction of the following requirements:
a) Requirements laid down in national technical regulations and regulations of relevant laws are met;
b) The compatibility and feasibility of the applied standards are ensured.
3. Research and application of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation in construction activities shall be required to meet the following requirements:
a) Ensure that applied technologies are advanced, modern and capable of serving environmental protection and sustainable development;
b) Apply information technology, digital transformation, innovation and building information modeling (BIM) in construction activities to improve the efficiency in management of construction investment activities.
4. Specialized construction work-managing Ministries shall formulate and update national technical regulations and standards applicable to specialized construction works in accordance with regulations of law on standards and technical regulations, ensuring their relevance to current conditions and trends in science and technology development.
Article 8. Construction materials
1. The development, production, and use of construction materials must ensure safety, efficiency, environmental friendliness and rational use of resources.
2. Materials and structural components used in a construction work must comply with the approved construction designs and technical instructions (if any), and meet quality requirements in accordance with regulations of law on standards and technical regulations, and law on quality of products and goods.
3. Construction materials used for production, manufacturing or processing of semi-finished products must comply with clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.
4. Priority is given to the use of local construction materials to ensure investment efficiency, domestically manufactured and processed construction materials and products, and products with a high level of domestic content.
1. For a public investment project, the project owner shall be the construction investment project management board affiliated to the investment decision-maker or the agency or organization assigned by the investment decision-maker to organize and manage the construction investment project. Such assigned agency or organization must meet relevant eligibility requirements for a project owner according to the Government’s regulations.
2. For a public-private partnership investment project (hereinafter referred to as “PPP project”):
a) The project owner shall be the PPP project enterprise;
b) If the PPP project enterprise is not yet established, the project owner shall be the investor selected according to regulations of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment.
3. For a construction investment project falling within the governing scope of the Law on Investment for which investor selection or investment registration procedures are required, the project owner shall be the investor selected or approved according to regulations of the Law on Investment or the Law on Bidding or the Land Law or other relevant laws.
4. For a project other than those prescribed in point 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, the project owner shall be the organization or individual that funds the project or that is assigned to organize, manage and use funds for performing construction investment activities.
Article 10. Insurance in construction activities
1. Compulsory insurance in construction activities shall be subjected to the following provisions:
a) Insurance for the work during the construction period shall be purchased by the project owner for a work significantly affecting the community safety and interests; a construction work posing a high risk of causing adverse environmental impacts or posing a risk of causing adverse environmental impacts as prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection; or a large-scale and complex engineering work. The project owner is entitled to assign the contractor to purchase insurance for the work during the construction period;
b) Professional liability insurance for construction consultant in respect of such tasks as construction survey and construction design of a construction work of grade II or higher shall be purchased by the consultant;
c) Insurance for employees working at the construction site and third-party civil liability insurance shall be purchased by the contractor in charge of execution of the construction work (herein after referred to as “construction contractor”).
2. Project owners, consultants and construction contractors are encouraged to purchase other types of insurance in construction activities in addition to such compulsory insurance types specified in clause 1 of this Article.
3. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on conditions binding upon extent of coverage, insurance premiums, and minimum sums insured for compulsory insurance types prescribed in clause 1 of this Article.
Article 11. Incentive policies in construction activities
1. Construction activities performed to preserve, embellish and promote the value of historical and cultural relics, and famous landscapes; for construction of social housing; and those performed under plannings in mountainous areas, islands, areas facing socio-economic difficulties or special socio-economic difficulties, and areas adversely affected by climate change, are encouraged.
2. Engagement by entities of different economic sectors in the performance of construction activities shall be encouraged and facilitated.
3. A number of public services provided by regulatory authorities in construction activities shall be gradually transferred to qualified socio-professional organizations.
4. The State shall adopt mechanisms and policies to encourage and give incentives for research, investment in the development, and use of new construction materials, recycled, green, light, smart, and eco-friendly materials, and those materials suitable for coastal areas and islands, ensuring sustainable development and safeguarding national defense and security; construction and certification of green buildings, smart buildings, and energy- and resource-efficient buildings which meet environmental protection requirements; development of smart and green-growth cities that are resilient to climate change and oriented towards sustainable development.
5. Research and application of construction engineering and technologies, advanced science and technology, as well as innovation to construction activities are encouraged.
Article 12. International cooperation in construction activities
1. Domestic organizations and individuals are encouraged to expand international cooperation in construction activities, transfer of technologies, techniques, managerial experiences and use of new materials.
2. The State shall facilitate the conclusion and implementation of treaties and international agreements in construction activities between domestic organizations or individuals and foreign organizations or individuals on the basis of ensuring the fundamental principles in construction activities; and the protection of Vietnamese construction brands overseas in accordance with regulations of law.
3. International cooperation in construction activities must ensure Vietnam’s security and sovereignty and comply with Vietnamese law.
Article 13. Force majeure events and fundamental changes in circumstances in construction activities
1. Force majeure events in construction activities include:
a) Disasters, environmental disasters;
b) Fires, epidemics;
c) States of national security or social order and safety emergency, and states of national defense emergency;
d) Strikes, embargoes, blockades;
dd) Activities related to the discovery of antiquities and archaeology;
e) Other cases as prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Fundamental changes in circumstances in construction activities include:
a) Changes in policies and laws made by the State;
b) Unforeseeable geological conditions;
c) Other cases as prescribed by relevant laws.
3. Determination of such events and circumstances in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article must comply with regulations of the Civil Code regarding force majeure events and performance of contract upon occurrence of fundamental changes in circumstances.
Article 14. Development of information system and national database on construction activities
1. The national database on construction activities is a platform used for carrying out digital transformation in management of construction activities. Data and information in the national database on construction activities are provided as original references for use in procedures related to urban and rural planning; construction activities; formulating, promulgating, reviewing, and updating construction norms, construction prices and price indices; formulating and promulgating national technical regulations under the management of the Ministry of Construction; and other procedures and activities related to construction investment in accordance with regulations of law.
2. The information system and national database on construction activities must be developed during the handling of administrative procedures related to construction activities specified in clause 1 of this Article, and must be regularly updated; ensure synchronization and connectivity with national databases on land, planning, and other relevant national and specialized databases; support management and administration tasks; and meet requirements regarding openness, transparency, and rights to access information of authorities, organizations and citizens.
3. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on development, management, operation and use of the information system and national database on construction activities.
1. Carry out construction works in areas in which construction is prohibited as prescribed in this Law or another relevant law.
2. Carry out construction works in contravention of applicable standards and technical regulations.
3. Commence construction works without meeting the conditions for such commencement as prescribed herein.
4. Produce or use construction materials which do not meet quality requirements, causing harm to the health of communities and the environment.
5. Violate regulations on occupational safety, property, fire safety, security, public order and environmental protection in construction sector.
6. Use the works for purposes or functions other then their intended ones, unless permitted by competent authorities; build, expand or encroach upon areas or spaces which are lawfully managed and used by another organization or individual, as well as public or shared-use areas.
7. Give or take bribes in construction activities; abuse other juridical or natural persons to participate in construction activities; make arrangements or enter into collusion to falsify the results of project formulation, survey, design or supervision of execution of construction works.
8. Abuse one’s position or authority to violate regulations of law on construction; conceal or delay the handling of violations against regulations of law on construction.
9. Obstruct lawful construction activities.
10. Deliberately make changes in construction designs which have been duly appraised or approved, affecting construction safety, environment, and fire safety.
MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT PROJECTS
Article 16. Construction investment process
1. The construction investment process of a project includes the following stages: project preparation, project implementation and construction completion.
2. A project may be put under investment phasing or divided into constituent projects; independent constituent projects; independent compensation, support, residential resettlement and site clearance projects (if any) for management and implementation.
3. A competent authority shall, depending on the nature and requirements of each project, decide the investment phasing or division of the project as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article when making decision on or approving the investment policy or when preparing feasibility study report or technical-economic report.
Article 17. Classification of construction investment projects
1. Construction investment projects classified by the investment form, including:
a) Public investment projects;
b) PPP projects;
c) Projects using state budget-derived funding for recurrent expenditures or other state budget-derived funding sources which do not fall under the governing scope of the Law on Public Investment, implemented according to regulations on public investment projects herein;
d) Construction investment projects falling under the governing scope of the Law on Investment, and construction investment projects other than those specified in points a, b, and c of this clause (hereinafter referred to as “business investment projects”).
2. Construction investment projects classified by their scale and importance, including:
a) Projects of national importance; projects whose investment policies are subject to the National Assembly’s decision or approval;
b) Group-A, group-B and group-C projects which are determined according to the relevant criteria set out in the Law on Public Investment.
3. Construction investment projects classified by their purposes and functions.
4. The Government shall elaborate clause 3 of this Article and classification of projects funded by official development assistance (ODA)/concessional loans granted by foreign donors for management of construction activities.
Article 18. Requirements attached to construction investment projects
1. Each construction investment project must meet the following requirements:
a) Conform to the planning which is used as the basis for project formulation (if any), except projects on routine maintenance, or repair and renovation of existing construction works without changing their objectives, scale and functions;
b) Ensure the feasibility of construction and technological design solutions (if any);
c) Meet the requirements regarding safety during construction, commercial operation and use of construction works, fire safety, environmental protection, and response to climate change;
d) There are financial plans and plans for mobilizing and allocating funds for efficiently implementing the project according to the approved schedule.
2. In addition to the requirements laid down in clause 1 of this Article, depending on the nature of each project and the investment form, construction investment projects must also comply with other regulations of relevant laws.
Article 19. Construction design
1. Construction design may involve one or more steps. The number and order of design steps shall be decided by the investment decision-maker during the formulation of the construction investment project or by the project owner when proceeding with construction design steps after the investment project has been approved. For a project which only requires technical-economic report, the one-step design that is construction drawing design shall apply.
2. Construction designs include:
a) Preliminary design;
b) Fundamental design;
c) FEED design;
d) Engineering design;
dd) Construction drawing design;
e) Other designs (if any).
Article 20. Requirements attached to construction design
1. A construction design must align with design tasks and meet the requirements regarding the contents and level of detail of each design type.
2. It must comply with applicable standards and technical regulations on construction; satisfy the requirements regarding functions and applicable technology (if any); construction safety; fire safety; environmental protection, response to climate change, and other engineering requirements specific to each design type.
3. For a project implemented under a multi-step design process, each subsequent design step shall further elaborate the previous one, and may be adjusted to meet efficiency and use requirements, provided that such adjustments do not change the approved objectives and scale, and continue to meet technical-economic requirements of the project.
4. A construction design must also meet requirements regarding maintenance of the construction works; and the plan for management, commercial operation and use of the construction works;
Article 21. Construction surveys
Construction surveys include:
1. Topographic survey;
2. Engineering geological survey, hydrogeological survey;
3. Hydrographic survey;
4. Existing condition survey of the work;
5. Other survey tasks performed to serve construction activities.
Article 22. Requirements attached to construction survey
1. Survey tasks and technical plans for construction survey must be developed to suit the type and grade of the construction work, survey type, design step and the requirements of construction design production.
2. A technical plan for construction survey must meet requirements of construction survey tasks and comply with applicable standards and technical regulations on construction survey.
3. The construction survey work must comply with the technical plan for construction survey, ensure safety and environmental protection, meet requirements of the approved construction survey tasks, and be subject to examination, supervision and acceptance as prescribed.
4. Construction survey results shall be compiled into a survey report, ensuring accuracy, objectivity, and a true reflection of actual conditions, and shall be subject to approval.
Section 2. FORMULATION AND APPRAISAL OF PROJECTS, AND MAKING OF INVESTMENT DECISIONS
Article 23. Formulation of construction investment projects
1. A project owner or agency or organization tasked with project preparation shall make a feasibility study report or technical-economic report which shall be used as a basis for project appraisal and approval, except the cases prescribed in clause 3 of this Article.
2. A construction investment project shall only require the technical-economic report in the following cases:
a) The construction investment project involves the work used for religious purpose, except the case specified in clause 4 of this Article;
b) The construction investment project has a small scale or simple technical nature as prescribed by the Government;
c) Other cases as prescribed by relevant laws.
3. Preparation of feasibility study reports or technical-economic reports for the works which are used by individuals or residential communities to directly serve their agricultural production as prescribed by the Land Law or detached housing works of family households or individuals is not required, except multi-storey or multi-apartment detached housing works which are subject to project formulation requirements as prescribed by the Housing Law or such detached housing works which are located within protection zones of world heritage sites or monuments and subject to project formulation requirements as prescribed by the Law on Cultural Heritage.
4. For projects on preservation, renovation and restoration of monuments, preparation and appraisal of feasibility study reports/technical-economic reports, and project approval shall comply with regulations of the Law on Cultural Heritage.
5. Preparation and appraisal of pre-feasibility study reports/investment policy proposal reports and project proposals as the basis for making of decisions on or approval for investment policies shall comply with regulations of the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment, the Law on Investment and other relevant laws.
Article 24. Feasibility study reports
1. A feasibility study report shall consist of an explanatory section and the construction design.
2. The explanatory section shall, inter alia, include the following primary contents:
a) Construction investment necessity and objectives, construction site and area of land used, capacity scale;
b) Factors constituting the feasibility, efficiency, achievement of objectives and suitability for the nature of the project;
c) Total investment, investment capital sources and investment form;
d) Assessment of the project’s impacts related to land appropriation, site clearance and resettlement (if any); safety during construction; fire safety; environmental protection and other necessary contents;
dd) The project owner and project management form, project implementation duration; planned investment phasing or division of the project into constituent projects (if any).
3. The construction design forms part of the feasibility study report shall be fundamental design, except the case specified in clause 4 of this Article.
4. Depending on the project’s requirements, the investment decision-maker shall decide to use FEED design or engineering design as a substitute for the fundamental design included in the feasibility study report.
Article 25. Technical-economic reports
1. A technical-economic report shall consist of an explanatory section, construction drawing design and technological design (if any).
2. The explanatory section shall indicate the necessity of investment, construction objectives, construction site, area of land used, scale, capacity, total investment, grade of the work, solutions for execution of the construction work, site clearance plan, construction safety, fire safety, environmental protection, capital sources, construction duration, construction investment efficiency; project owner and project management form.
Article 26. Appraisal of feasibility study reports and technical-economic reports
1. Appraisal of feasibility study reports/technical-economic reports is required to form the basis for project approval or making of construction investment decisions.
2. For PPP projects, competent authorities shall carry out appraisal of feasibility study reports/technical-economic reports in accordance with regulations of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment.
3. For a public investment project, the investment decision-maker shall assign its affiliated specialized agency or affiliated agency or organization with appropriate expertise to carry out the appraisal with the following subject matters:
a) Conformity of the feasibility study report/technical-economic report with the investment policy (if any);
b) Factors constituting the feasibility and efficiency of the project; determination of total construction investment;
c) Conformity of the construction design with construction design tasks;
d) Conformity of the technological design with the project’s requirements (for a project having technological design);
dd) Completion of environment-related procedures as prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection;
e) Project management form;
g) Other contents as prescribed by relevant laws and requested by the investment decision-maker;
h) The appraisal of a technical-economic report must also include assessment of the satisfaction by the construction drawing design of the requirements regarding safety of the work and measures for ensuring safety of adjacent works; assessment of fire safety design solutions as prescribed by the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue.
4. With respect to a business investment project, the investment decision-maker shall assume responsibility to organize the appraisal which includes the subject matters specified in points a, c and d clause 3 of this Article, satisfaction of business and investment requirements and compliance with regulations of other relevant laws.
5. Verification of construction designs of the following works of construction investment projects is required to form the basis for conducting appraisal:
a) Construction works significantly affecting the community safety and interests, or projects involving large-scale and complex engineering works, must undergo verification of construction designs in terms of safety of the work, compliance with applicable standards and technical regulations, and other contents as agreed upon the construction contracts;
b) Works subject to appraisal of fire safety designs as prescribed by the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue must undergo verification of construction designs to ensure that fire safety design requirements are met.
6. For projects whose feasibility study reports are subject to appraisal by specialized construction agencies as prescribed in Article 27 of this Law, appraisal results given by specialized construction agencies must be also submitted to investment decision-makers to serve their consideration and making of decisions upon project approval.
7. Regarding construction investment projects applying technologies restricted from transfer or construction investment projects that apply technologies and pose risks of causing adverse environmental impacts, appraisal of or collection of opinions on technologies used therein is required in accordance with regulations of law on technology transfer. Appraisal results or opinions on technologies must be submitted to investment decision-makers to serve their consideration and making of decisions upon project approval.
8. Apart from provisions of this Article, construction investment projects included in the List of key projects subject to national defense and security requirements as prescribed in clause 6 Article 28 of this Law must be also submitted to Ministry of National Defence and/or Ministry of Public Security to seek their opinions about the project’s satisfaction of national defense and security requirements before approving such projects.
Article 27. Appraisal of feasibility study reports by specialized construction agencies and appraisal councils
1. The following projects must be appraised by specialized construction agencies:
a) Public investment projects;
b) PPP projects;
c) Large-scale business investment projects or those projects involving works significantly affecting the community safety and interests as prescribed by the Government.
2. Appraisal of projects which only require technical-economic reports as prescribed in clause 2 Article 23 of this Law by specialized construction agencies is not required.
3. Regarding projects of national importance or projects whose investment policies are subject to the National Assembly’s decision or approval, Ministries or provincial-level People’s Committees are allowed to establish appraisal councils in charge of appraising feasibility study reports for these projects.
4. Appraisal of a feasibility study report shall mainly focus on the following subject matters:
a) Conformity of the construction design with the planning used as the basis for project formulation;
b) Regional technical infrastructure connectivity;
c) Compliance with technical regulations and application of standards as prescribed by law on technical regulations and standards; factors constituting the construction safety of the construction design; assessment of fire safety design solutions as prescribed by the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue;
d) Compliance with regulations of law on management of construction investment costs, in respect of public investment projects and PPP projects.
Article 28. Approval of projects, grant of construction investment decisions, and adjustment of construction investment projects
1. Depending on the investment forms, the authority to approve projects or make construction investment decision shall be determined according to regulations of the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment, and other relevant laws. Investment decision shall be included in the decision on approval of construction investment project.
2. A public investment project may be adjusted in the following cases:
a) The State makes changes in their policies or laws, resulting in an increase in total investment of the project, or there are changes in investment policies made by a competent authority;
b) Adjustments to the planning used as the basis for project formulation directly affect the investment scale and/or construction site of the project;
c) There is any change in investment scale or objectives, an increase in total investment or extension of project implementation duration as a result of a force majeure event or fundamental change in circumstances in construction activities as prescribed in Article 13 of this Law;
d) Factors bringing higher efficiency for the project occur, and financial and socio-economic efficiency resulting from adjustments of the project has been proved by the project owner;
dd) The price index quoted during the project implementation is higher than the one used for calculation of contingencies for price escalation included in the project’s total investment decided by a competent authority, resulting in an increase in total construction investment.
3. Adjustment of PPP projects shall comply with provisions of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment.
4. Adjustment of business investment projects shall be subject to decisions issued by the investment decision-makers.
5. The Government shall elaborate formulation, appraisal, approval and adjustment of construction investment projects.
6. The Minister of National Defense and Minister of Public Security shall issue regulations on appraisal of feasibility study reports and technical-economic reports of construction investment projects serving national defense and security purposes in conformity with particular management requirements; promulgate the List of key projects subject to national defense and security requirements.
Section 3. MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION DESIGN DEVELOPED UPON PROJECT APPROVAL
Article 29. Appraisal and approval of construction designs
1. The project owner shall take charge of appraisal, control and approval of the construction design after the project is approved.
2. Sub-projects that use public investment capital of a PPP project as defined in the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment shall be managed in the same manner as constituent projects of that PPP project. Preparation, appraisal and approval of construction designs and construction cost estimates shall comply with provisions of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment.
3. Construction designs of the construction works specified in clause 5 Article 26 of this Law must be verified to serve as the basis for the appraisal or control of designs by project owners.
4. Project owners shall assume responsibility to comply with the requirements laid down in laws on fire safety, search and rescue, environmental protection, national defense and security, and other relevant laws.
5. The Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Public Security shall stipulate the authority and procedures for production, appraisal, approval and adjustment of construction designs of the construction investment projects serving national defense and security purposes.
Article 30. Subject matters of appraisal of construction design by project owner
1. Regarding construction works of a public investment project, the project owner shall carry out an appraisal of the following subject matters:
a) Satisfaction of the requirements of design tasks;
b) Conformity of the construction design developed upon project approval with the construction design included in the feasibility study report;
c) Compliance with relevant applicable standards, technical regulations, and regulations of law on use of construction materials;
d) Assessment of the safety of load-bearing structures and the safety of adjacent works; assessment of fire safety design solutions as prescribed by the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue;
dd) Conformity of the estimated main quantity with the designed quantity; conformity of the estimated costs of the construction work with total construction investment; determination of estimated costs of the construction work;
e) Satisfaction of competency requirements by the entities in charge of construction survey, construction design and estimation of construction costs as prescribed in this Law and other relevant laws.
2. Regarding construction works of PPP projects or business investment projects, subject matters of appraisal shall comply with the Government’s regulations.
Article 31. Adjustment of construction design developed upon project approval
1. A construction design may be adjusted in the following cases:
a) Adjustment of the construction investment project results in adjustment of the construction design;
b) During the execution of the construction work, the construction design must be adjusted to ensure quality of the construction work, and meet efficiency and use requirements of the project.
2. Project owners shall decide the adjustment of construction designs as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article. Adjusted construction designs must be appraised and approved in accordance with provisions of Article 29 of this Law.
3. The Government shall elaborate formulation, appraisal, approval and adjustment of construction designs developed upon project approval.
Section 4. MANAGEMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT PROJECTS
Article 32. Forms of organization of management of construction investment projects
1. Based on its scale, nature, investment form and conditions for implementation, a construction investment project shall be managed using one of the following forms of organization of project management:
a) Construction investment project management board;
b) The project owner organizes the project management by hiring a project management consultant or establishing its affiliated project management board or performing the project management tasks themselves.
2. The construction investment project management board specified in point a clause 1 of this Article is assigned by the investment decision-maker to concurrently or continuously manage a number of projects of the same sector or in the same administrative division; may provide project management consultancy when satisfying relevant eligibility and competency requirements as prescribed.
Article 33. Contents of construction investment project management
1. Contents of construction investment project management shall include management of the scope and plan for tasks; volume of tasks; construction quality; implementation schedule; construction investment costs; safety during execution of construction works; environmental protection during construction; contractor selection and construction contract, and other necessary contents in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws.
2. The project owner shall undertake or assign the project management board or the project management consultant to undertake a part or all of the project management contents prescribed in clause 1 of this Article.
Article 34. Management of schedule for implementation of construction investment projects
1. The investment decision-maker shall decide the implementation duration and schedule upon project approval (including cases of adjustment) which must ensure the feasibility of the project, and comply with policies approved by a competent authority or regulations of other relevant laws.
2. The project owner and the construction contractor shall draw up a schedule plan for execution of the construction works and manage the project implementation to ensure it aligns with the approved schedule.
3. Project owners, project management consultants and construction contractors are encouraged to propose and apply engineering and technological solutions, and organize management tasks in a reasonable manner to shorten the construction duration.
Section 5. RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ENTITIES INVOLVED IN MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT PROJECTS
Article 35. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project formulation consultants, design consultants and project management consultants
1. Project formulation consultants, design consultants and project management consultants shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners, or agencies or organizations tasked with project preparation, and relevant parties to provide information and documents relating to assigned consultancy tasks;
b) Have the intellectual property rights over their consultancy products protected in accordance with regulations of law;
c) Reject unlawful requests of project owners;
d) Subcontract part of consultancy tasks in accordance with terms and conditions of construction contracts;
dd) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Project formulation consultants, design consultants and project management consultants shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Discharge their obligations as stated in construction contracts;
b) Assume responsibility for results and quality of the tasks performed as stated in construction contracts and as prescribed by law;
c) Assume responsibility for quality of the tasks performed by subcontractors (if any). Subcontractors shall assume responsibility for results of the tasks performed before the main contractor and the law;
d) Pay compensation for damage caused to project owners due to use of inappropriate information, documents, standards, technical regulations and/or engineering solutions, failure to meet requirements regarding results and quality of tasks performed, or breaches of construction contracts;
dd) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 36. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of verification consultants
1. Verification consultants shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners, or organizations or individuals responsible for formulating projects or producing construction designs to provide, clarify or explain information for verification purposes;
b) Reserve verification results and reject requests to falsify verification results or requests falling beyond their capacity or the scope of verification tasks;
c) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Verification consultants shall have the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Carry out verifications with adequate contents as required by construction contracts;
b) Explain and clarify verification results to support the performance of project appraisal tasks;
c) Assume responsibility before the law and project owners for adequacy, accuracy, truthfulness, quality and contents of verification reports;
d) Pay compensation for damage caused to project owners due to inaccurate information in their verification reports or breaches of construction contracts;
dd) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 37. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction survey contractors
1. Construction survey contractors shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners and relevant parties to provide relevant data and information in accordance with construction contracts to support construction surveys;
b) Reject requests falling beyond the scope of construction survey contracts;
c) Subcontract part of construction survey tasks in accordance with terms and conditions of construction contracts;
d) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Construction survey contractors shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Strictly comply with construction survey requirements in accordance with this Law and construction contracts;
b) Propose and add construction survey tasks when detecting factors directly affecting design solutions;
c) Take responsibility for results and quality of construction surveys they have conducted; take responsibility for managing the quality of surveys conducted by subcontractors (if any) and survey results provided by subcontractors. When participating in construction surveys, subcontractors shall take responsibility for survey results before the main contractor and the law;
d) Pay compensation for damage caused by improper performance of survey tasks, use of inappropriate information, documents, standards and/or technical regulations on construction survey, or breaches of construction contracts;
dd) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 38. Rights and responsibilities of agencies in charge of appraisal of feasibility study reports and technical-economic reports
1. Specialized agencies affiliated to investment decision-makers or agencies or organizations assigned by investment-decision makers to take charge of appraisal tasks shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners, organizations or individuals responsible for construction surveys, preparing and verifying feasibility study reports or technical-economic reports to provide, clarify or explain information to support the performance of appraisal tasks;
b) Request project owners to hire verification consultants or invite qualified and experienced organizations and/or individuals to engage in the appraisal;
c) Reserve appraisal results, and reject requests to falsify appraisal results or requests falling beyond their capacity or the scope of appraisal tasks as prescribed.
2. Specialized agencies affiliated to investment decision-makers or agencies or organizations assigned by investment-decision makers to take charge of appraisal tasks shall have the following responsibilities:
a) Appraise feasibility study reports and technical-economic reports in accordance with regulations laid down herein, and send consolidated opinions and appraisal results given by relevant agencies and organizations to investment decision-makers for approving projects or issuing construction investment decisions;
b) Take responsibility before the law and investment decision-makers for results of the tasks they have performed.
3. Appraisal councils and specialized construction agencies shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners, relevant organizations and individuals to clarify or explain information concerning construction surveys, preparation and verification of feasibility study reports to support the performance of appraisal tasks;
b) Request the planning or architecture-managing agency of the administrative division where the project is located to provide relevant planning information, when necessary;
c) Request project owners to hire verification consultants or invite qualified and experienced organizations and individuals to engage in the appraisal, when necessary;
d) Reserve appraisal results and reject requests to falsify appraisal results.
4. Appraisal councils and specialized construction agencies shall have the following responsibilities:
a) Carry out appraisal in accordance with regulations laid down herein;
b) Send written notices of appraisal opinions and results to project owners and relevant authorities;
c) Take responsibility before the law for the results of the tasks they have performed.
Article 39. Rights and responsibilities of investment decision-makers
1. Investment decision-makers shall have the following rights:
a) Approve projects or delegate or authorize others to do so; decide determination of construction design types in feasibility study reports of technical-economic reports or delegate or authorize others to do so; take charge of final settlement of construction investment capital. Such delegation and authorization of powers shall comply with in accordance with regulations of the Law on Organization of the Government, the Law on Organization of Local Governments, the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment, and other relevant laws;
b) Reject to approve projects when the investment objectives and project efficiency requirements are not met;
c) Suspend or terminate the implementation of construction investment projects which have been approved or are in progress if such suspension or termination is deemed necessary as prescribed by law;
d) Change or adjust construction investment projects when such change or adjustment is deemed necessary as prescribed in Article 28 of this Law;
dd) Exercise other rights as prescribed by law.
2. Investment decision-makers shall discharge the following responsibilities:
a) Organize project appraisal and make construction investment decisions;
b) Ensure the availability of capital for implementation of construction investment projects;
c) Examine the implementation of construction investment projects by project owners;
d) Assume responsibility before the law for their decisions; within the ambit of their assigned powers, assume the full responsibility for any matters that arise during the implementation and upon completion and transfer of projects for putting into operation and use, and final settlement of construction investment capital.
Article 40. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project owners
1. Project owners shall have the following rights:
a) Formulate projects, produce and verify construction designs, and conduct construction surveys in accordance with regulations herein;
b) Select and enter into construction contracts with qualified contractors to perform such tasks as project formulation and management, construction survey, production and verification of construction designs;
c) Organize project formulation and management;
d) Exercise other rights as prescribed by law.
2. Project owners shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Select qualified and experienced consultants on production and verification of construction designs, and construction surveys as prescribed;
b) Determine the requirements and contents of project formulation, construction survey, production and verification of construction designs;
c) Provide necessary information and documents for consultants on project formulation, construction survey, production and verification of construction designs;
d) Organize check and acceptance of results of project formulation, construction survey and construction design, and retention of dossiers on construction investment projects, construction designs and construction surveys;
dd) Properly execute construction contracts; pay compensation for damage due to breaches of construction contracts;
e) Examine and supervise the project implementation; submit periodic reports on the project implementation to investment decision-makers and competent regulatory authorities;
g) Take responsibility before the law and investment decision-makers for results of the tasks they have performed;
h) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 41. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction investment project management boards
1. Construction investment project management boards shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners to provide information and documents concerning their assigned project management tasks in case they are not assigned to act as project owners;
b) Exercise the rights to manage projects as assigned;
c) Propose plans and solutions for organizing project management, and submit the matters falling beyond their competence to competent authorities to seek their resolution;
d) Hire qualified consultants to participate in project management if deeming it necessary after obtaining approval from project owners in case they are not assigned to act as project owners.
2. Construction investment project management boards shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Discharge the project owner’s project management obligations within the scope of their assigned tasks;
b) Organize the management of construction investment projects in a manner that ensures satisfaction of the requirements regarding the schedule, quality, costs, safety and environmental protection during construction;
c) Submit reports on performance of tasks at the request of project owners during the project management in case they are not assigned to act as project owners;
d) Assume responsibility before investment decision-makers or project owners in case they are not assigned to act as project owners and before the law for project management results. Consultants hired to engage in project management shall assume responsibility for results of the tasks they have performed before construction investment project management boards and the law;
dd) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as prescribed by law.
Article 42. Retention of construction work dossiers
1. Project owners shall be responsible for retaining appraisal dossiers, documents received from competent authorities, and as-built documentation. Contractors engaged in construction activities shall retain all documents on the tasks they have performed.
2. Documents used to serve the management and use of a construction work shall be retained by the entity in charge of managing and using such construction work for a period which is not shorter than the service life of the work as prescribed by law.
3. The compilation and retention of dossiers on construction works shall comply with provision of the Law on Archives.
CONSTRUCTION PERMIT AND CONSTRUCTION ORDER MANAGEMENT
Article 43. General provisions on issuance of construction permits
1. Construction permits include:
a) New construction permit;
b) Permit for repair, renovation or relocation of works;
c) Definite-term construction permit.
2. Before commencing their construction work, the project owner is required to obtain a construction permit, except the following cases:
a) State-secret works; emergency or urgent works; works belonging to special public investment projects; works belonging to investment projects implemented following special investment procedures; temporary construction works as defined in this Law; works built in land areas dedicated to serve national defense and security purposes as prescribed by the Land Law;
b) Works belonging to public investment projects in which the construction investment is decided by the Prime Minister, heads of central-level agencies of political organizations, People’s Supreme Procuracy, People’s Supreme Court, State Audit Office of Vietnam, Office of the President, Office of the National Assembly, Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies, central-level agencies of Vietnamese Fatherland Front and of socio-political organizations or Chairpersons of People’s Committees at different levels;
c) Linear construction works involving at least two provincial-level administrative divisions; linear construction works located outside areas intended for urban development which are determined according to urban and rural planning or detailed sector planning approved by a competent authority or for which routing plans have been approved by competent authorities;
d) Offshore works belonging to offshore construction investment projects to which sea areas have been assigned by competent authorities for project implementation; airports, works located within airports, and air navigation works located outside airports;
dd) Advertisement works which are not subject to construction permit requirement as prescribed by the Law on Advertisement; passive telecom infrastructure works;
e) Construction works belonging to construction investment projects for which feasibility study reports or adjusted feasibility study reports have been appraised by specialized construction agencies and approved as prescribed;
g) Grade-IV construction works or detached housing works with a scale of less than 07 stories and a total construction floor area of less than 500 m2, located in neither of the following areas and zones: special-purpose zones or areas intended for urban development, as defined in general plannings of cities; special-purpose zones, rural residential areas or areas intended for urban development, as defined in general urban planning of provinces or cities, or general planning for economic zones and national tourism areas; construction areas subject to general planning of communes; areas subject to architectural management rules in force;
h) Works involving repair and renovation of their interior parts, or works involving repair and renovation of their external parts not facing roads in urban areas, subject to architectural management requirements laid down by competent regulatory authorities; such repair and renovation activities do not alter the purposes, functions and force-bearing structures of the works, meet fire safety and environmental protection requirements, and must be capable of technical infrastructure connection.
3. Before commencing their construction works, project owners of the works specified in points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g and h clause 2 of this Article must send commencement date notices (except state-secrete works, emergency or urgent works, or temporary construction works specified in point a clause 2 of this Article, and detached housing works of family households or individuals) to construction authorities in charge of areas where such works are located as delegated by provincial-level People’s Committees. To be specific:
a) Regarding the works specified in points b and c clause 2 of this Article, commencement date notices shall be sent;
b) Regarding the works specified in points a, d, dd, e, g and h clause 2 of this Article, commencement date notices accompanied with required documents of application for construction permit as prescribed (excluding the application form for construction permit) shall be sent.
Article 44. Issuance of construction permit
1. In order to be issued with the construction permits specified in clause 1 Article 43 of this Law, the following conditions must be met:
a) The construction work is conformable with land use purposes as prescribed by the Land Law;
b) The construction work is conformable with urban and rural planning or specific urban design as prescribed by the Law on Urban and Rural Planning or architectural management rules as prescribed by the Law on Architecture or other detailed sector planning as prescribed by the Law on Planning, except case of application for a definite-term construction permit;
c) The construction design must ensure the safety of the subject work and adjacent works; satisfy environmental protection and fire safety requirements; and be capable of technical infrastructure connection.
2. Definite-term construction permits are issued to the works located in areas subject to the plannings in effect as prescribed by the Law on Urban and Rural Planning or other detailed sector plannings which have been approved and announced by competent regulatory authorities but are yet to be implemented and for which land expropriation decisions are yet to be issued by competent regulatory authorities.
3. The Government shall elaborate conditions, authority, documentation requirements and procedures for issuance, modification, extension, re-issuance, revocation, invalidation and disclosure of construction permits.
Article 45. Rights and responsibilities of authorities competent to issue construction permits; responsibilities of agencies and organizations involved in issuance of construction permits
1. Authorities competent to issue construction permits shall have the following rights:
a) Request project owners, or organizations or individuals responsible for producing construction designs to provide, clarify or explain information for issuance of construction permits;
b) Reject requests to falsify processing results of applications for construction permit or requests falling beyond the ambit of theirs assigned functions and tasks, or the scope of issuance of construction permits as prescribed;
c) Examine the satisfaction of relevant conditions as prescribed in this Law and send written requests for opinions of regulatory authorities in charge of fields or sectors related to the construction work in question in accordance with law.
2. Authorities competent to issue construction permits shall discharge the following responsibilities:
a) Openly post, explain and provide guidelines on regulations of law on issuance of construction permits;
b) Monitor and return results of processing of applications for construction permits, or notify project owners of their unsatisfactory applications;
c) Issue construction permits according to the procedures and within the time limit prescribed;
d) Play the leading role and cooperate with relevant agencies in examining the construction according to construction permits; suspend the construction and revoke construction permits within their competence;
dd) Persons competent to issue construction permits shall bear legal responsibility and pay compensation for damage caused by their issuance of construction permits against regulations or delay in such issuance of construction permits in accordance with regulations of law;
e) Examine the validity of applications for construction permit.
3. Agencies and organizations involved in issuance of construction permits shall discharge the following responsibilities:
a) Give opinions about the fields or sectors related to the subject construction works at the request of authorities competent to issue construction permits in accordance with regulations of law;
b) Take actions within their competence as prescribed by law against the construction works built without construction permits or against the issued construction permits.
Article 46. Rights and obligations of applicants for construction permit
1. Applicants for construction permit shall have the following rights:
a) Request authorities competent to issue construction permit to explain and provide guidelines on, and comply with regulations on issuance of construction permits;
b) File complaints, lawsuits and denunciations against organizations or individuals committing violations against regulations of law on issuance of construction permits;
c) Commence the construction works in accordance with provisions of this Law.
2. Applicants for construction permit shall discharge the following responsibilities:
a) Submit adequate documents as required, and bear responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of documents included in their applications for construction permit;
b) Make sure that the land use rights and ownership of structures on land to be covered by the construction permit are legitimate;
c) Pay fees for issuance of construction permits as prescribed;
d) Notify the commencement of construction works as prescribed in point dd clause 1 Article 48 of this Law;
dd) Properly comply with contents of the issued construction permits.
Article 47. Construction order management
1. Construction order management must be carried out from the receipt of the commencement date notice or from the commencement of the construction work until the work is put under acceptance testing and transferred for being put into operation and use, in order to detect, prevent and promptly take actions against any violations.
2. Construction order management must be carried out with adequate and appropriate contents for works that require a construction permit and those that do not.
3. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall bear the full responsibility for managing construction order with respect to works located in areas under their management; commune-level People’s Committees shall bear the full responsibility for managing construction order with respect to works located in areas delegated by provincial-level People’s Committees.
4. When a violation is detected, the authority in charge of managing construction order must take actions against the violation within their competence as prescribed by law.
PROVISIONS ON CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Section 1. PREPARATION FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Article 48. Conditions for commencement of construction works
1. In order to commence a construction work, except such works specified in clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, the following conditions must be met:
a) The land area for construction is available for entire or partial transfer;
b) A construction permit issued according to Article 43 of this Law is available;
c) There is an approved construction drawing design for the work part or work item or the work to be constructed;
d) The project owner has signed construction contracts with the contractors performing construction activities related to the work to be constructed according to the execution schedule;
dd) The project owner has sent a commencement date notice in writing or online (except detached housing works of family households or individuals) to the local construction authority.
2. Commencement of the following construction works only requires meeting the condition set out in point a clause 1 of this Article:
a) Emergency or urgent works and works belonging to special public investment projects;
b) Works which must be commenced as soon as possible according to the directives of competent authorities as decided by the Prime Minister.
3. Commencement of detached housing works of family households or individuals only requires meeting the condition set out in point b clause 1 of this Article and on a condition that such works are constructed on lawful land areas as prescribed by the Land Law.
Article 49. Requirements attached to construction sites
1. Project owners shall install signboards and equipment used for supervising works at construction sites in accordance with regulations of law.
2. Construction contractors shall manage the entire construction sites in accordance with regulations of law, except cases where project owners organize such management tasks.
3. Construction contractors shall take measures to ensure occupational safety and health; safety of people and vehicles entering and leaving the construction sites, gather and treat construction waste in a proper manner without adversely affecting the environment around the construction sites.
Section 2. EXECUTION OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Article 50. Requirements attached to execution of construction works
1. Comply with the approved construction designs, technical regulations and standards applicable to construction works, regulations of law on use of construction materials; ensure satisfaction of requirements regarding load-bearing structures, fire safety, safety during use, beautiful looking, environmental protection, and other safety conditions as prescribed by law.
2. Ensure occupational safety and health; safety of construction works, people, construction equipment, underground works and adjacent works; adopt necessary measures to minimize loss of life and property in case of incidents threatening safety of works during construction.
3. Adopt separate safety engineering measures for work items and tasks subject to strict occupational safety and fire safety requirements.
4. Use supplies and materials of appropriate types to meet the requirements of construction designs during the execution of construction works.
5. Conduct examination, supervision and acceptance testing of construction tasks and important transitional stages of execution of construction works when necessary, and acceptance testing of completed work items or construction works before they are transferred for putting into operation and use.
Article 51. Safety during execution of construction works
1. Construction contractors shall assume responsibility for ensuring occupational safety and health; safety of construction works, property, equipment and vehicles during the execution of construction works; environmental protection; and fire safety.
2. Project owners shall organize the supervision of construction contractors’ compliance with safety regulations; temporarily suspend or halt the execution of construction works when detecting any signs of violation against safety regulations, incidents threatening safety of works; cooperate with contractors in handling and remedying consequences of incidents or occupational accidents; promptly notify and cooperate with competent regulatory authorities in responding to fatal construction work incidents or occupational accidents.
3. Construction contractors shall determine danger zones in execution of construction works; organize development and submission of measures to ensure safety of people, construction works, property, equipment and vehicles in danger zones in execution of construction works to project owners; review such safety measures in a periodical or ad hoc basis and adjust them to suit execution conditions at construction sites.
4. In case boundaries of a danger zone in execution of the construction work are located outside the construction site, the project owner shall send their approved safety measures to the relevant specialized construction agencies to seek their examination or inspection during the execution of construction work.
5. Machinery, equipment and supplies used in execution of construction works which are subject to strict occupational safety requirements must be inspected before they are put into use.
Article 52. Environmental protection during execution of construction works
In the course of execution of construction works, construction contractors shall discharge the following responsibilities:
1. Develop and implement environmental protection measures during execution of construction works, including air environment, water environment, solid waste, noise, and other requirements prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection;
2. Pay compensation for damage caused by environmental pollution in accordance with regulations of law.
Article 53. Relocation of construction works
1. The relocation of construction works must comply with approved planning as prescribed by the Law on Planning and the Law on Urban and Rural Planning, ensure the quality and safety of relocated construction works, cause no impact on adjacent works, and meet conservation requirements in respect of such works subject to conservation requirements.
2. When relocating construction works, project owners or owners of the works must have valid relocation permits, unless they are exempt from construction permit requirement.
3. Contractors carrying out the relocation of construction works must adopt measures to ensure occupational safety, safety of the relocated works and adjacent works, and environmental protection.
Article 54. Demolition of construction works
1. Construction works shall be demolished in the following cases:
a) The demolition is carried out for clearance of sites for construction of new or temporary works;
b) Works are at risk of imminent collapse, posing a threat to the community and adjacent works; works must undergo emergency demolition to promptly meet requirements regarding prevention, control and recovery from disaster, catastrophe, epidemic or other urgent tasks to ensure national defense and security, and external affairs according to decisions issued by competent regulatory authorities;
c) Works are constructed in areas where the construction is prohibited;
d) Works are constructed against the planning as prescribed in the Law on Urban and Rural Planning or detailed sector planning; works are constructed without construction permits as required, or works are constructed against the issued construction permits;
dd) Works are constructed in public land areas, or land areas under lawful use rights of other organizations or individuals; works are exempted from the construction permit requirement but constructed against the approved construction designs;
e) Detached housing works are demolished for rebuilding;
g) Demolition of construction works is carried out at the request of project owners or owners of the works;
h) The designed service life of the works has expired;
i) Other cases as prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Responsibilities of parties involved in the demolition of construction works are prescribed as follows:
a) Project owners, owners, managers or users of the works, or persons assigned to take charge of demolition tasks shall organize the demolition of construction works; carry out the demolition themselves or hire qualified consultants to develop and verify demolition plans or solutions, and carry out the demolition; bear legal responsibility and pay compensation for any damage caused by their fault;
b) Contractors assigned to carry out the demolition shall develop demolition methods in conformity with the approved demolition plans or solutions; carry out the demolition according to such demolition methods and demolition decision or enforced demolition decision (if any); carry out control and monitoring of works; ensure safety for people, property, the demolished works and adjacent works; bear legal responsibility and pay compensation for damage caused by their fault;
c) Persons competent to make decisions on demolition of construction works shall bear legal responsibility for consequences of their failure to issue demolition decisions, delay in issuance of demolition decisions, or issuance of such decisions against regulations of law;
d) Owners or users of the works subject to demolition shall be required to comply with demolition decisions issued by competent regulatory authorities; those failing to comply shall be subject to forced demolition and bear all demolition costs.
Article 55. Construction work incidents
1. During the execution, operation or use of a construction work, if any safety risk or risk of causing a work incident affecting human lives, adjacent works, or the community is detected, the project owner, construction contractor, the manager or user of the work, and competent regulatory authorities shall discharge the following responsibilities:
a) Promptly order the cessation of execution of the construction work, operation, or use of the work, and implement measures to ensure safety of people and property;
b) Implement necessary measures to limit and prevent potential safety risks to the work; promptly send notification thereof to relevant competent organizations and individuals;
c) Protect the scene, except cases where emergency remedial measures are deemed necessary to prevent further damage.
2. Upon discovery or receipt of notification of a construction work incident, the competent regulatory authority and relevant organizations and individuals shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, discharge the following responsibilities:
a) Promptly implement emergency measures to respond to the incident;
b) The competent regulatory authority shall organize an examination in order to determine the causes of the incident and clarify the responsibilities of the organizations and individuals at fault.
3. The execution, operation or use of the work involving the incident may only continue when permitted by the competent regulatory authority in charge of resolving the incident.
4. Any organization or individual that is found to cause a construction work incident shall pay compensation for damage and bear all relevant costs; may incur administrative penalties and be liable to criminal prosecution in accordance with regulations of relevant laws.
Section 3. QUALITY MANAGEMENT, ACCEPTANCE TESTING AND TRANSFER OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Article 56. Supervision of execution of construction works
1. Construction works shall be supervised in terms of quality, volume, schedule or progress, occupational safety and environmental protection during their execution. Supervision of execution of detached housing works of family households or individuals is encouraged.
2. Supervision of execution of construction works must satisfy the following requirements:
a) Acceptance testing of construction tasks shall be carried out during the execution, and acceptance testing of transitional stages must be also carried out when necessary;
b) Supervision is aimed at ensuring that the execution of construction works is conformable with the approved construction design, applicable standards and technical regulations, regulations on management and use of construction materials, technical instructions and the construction contract;
c) Supervision must be carried out in an honest, objective and impartial manner.
3. Contractors selected to take charge of supervision of execution of construction works (hereinafter referred to as “supervision contractors”) shall propose supervision solutions, procedures for controlling the quality, volume, schedule or progress, occupational safety and environmental protection, examination and acceptance testing procedures, measures to manage records and documents during supervision and other necessary contents.
Article 57. Acceptance testing of construction works
1. The acceptance testing of a construction work includes:
a) Acceptance testing of construction tasks which is carried out during the execution; acceptance testing of transitional stages which is carried out when necessary;
b) Acceptance testing of completed work items and construction work.
2. Completed work items or construction works may only be put into operation or use after they have undergone acceptance testing and the acceptance testing results confirm that they meet the requirements of construction designs, applicable standards, technical regulations, and regulations on management and use of construction materials, have been accepted in accordance with this Law, and comply with regulations of other relevant laws.
3. Project owners shall organize the acceptance testing of construction works. Organizations and individuals engaged in the acceptance testing shall take responsibility for the products they have certified during the acceptance testing of construction works.
4. Acceptance testing during the execution and upon completion of construction works belonging to projects of national importance, large-scale and complex engineering works, and works significantly affecting the community safety and interests before they are put into operation or use shall be subject to the inspection by competent authorities. To be specific:
a) The state inspection council for acceptance testing of construction works shall organize the inspection of acceptance testing of construction works belonging to projects of national importance, and large-scale and complex engineering works;
b) Specialized construction agencies shall organize the inspection of project owners’ acceptance testing of construction works other than those specified in point a of this clause.
5. The Prime Minister shall issue a decision on establishment of the State inspection council for acceptance testing of construction works which must specify the Council’s composition, responsibilities, powers, working regime, and responsibility for cooperation between Ministries, ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, and relevant organizations and individuals, and the Council.
6. The Government shall elaborate the quality management and acceptance testing of construction works; large-scale and complex engineering works; and management of construction of detached housing works.
Article 58. Transfer of construction works
1. The transfer of construction works must comply with the following provisions:
a) The acceptance testing of the construction work has been carried out in accordance with regulations of this Law;
b) Safety must be ensured during operation or use when the work is put into operation or use;
c) For urban area construction investment projects, all or some works belonging to the project may be transferred for putting into operation or use; however, prior to such transfer, the construction investment must be completed to ensure the synchronization of technical and social infrastructure systems according to the approved investment phasing and construction designs, ensure their connection with the regional shared technical infrastructure system, and conformity with the approved project contents and planning.
2. Project owners shall receive works under terms and conditions of the construction contracts signed with contractors. Persons engaged in transfer of works shall be responsible for the products they have certified during the transfer of construction works.
In case a project owner is not the owner, manager or user of the work, the project owner shall transfer the construction work to the owner, manager or user of the work after organizing acceptance testing of the construction work. Written record of transfer of construction works is compulsory.
3. Before transfer of a construction work, the construction contractor shall transfer all documents, including as-built drawings, manuals on operation or maintenance of the work, list of equipment, spare parts, replacement supplies, and other relevant necessary documents to the project owner.
4. Pending the transfer of a construction work to its owner, manager or user, the project owner shall temporarily manage and operate it.
5. For urban area construction investment projects, apart from the provisions in clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, project owners shall transfer technical and social infrastructure works, and other works in accordance with the Government’s regulations.
Section 4. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ENTITIES DURING EXECUTION OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Article 59. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project owners during execution of construction works
1. Project owners shall have the following rights:
a) Carry out the execution of construction works according to provisions of this Law or hire qualified contractors to do so; supervise and request construction contractors to strictly comply with terms and conditions of construction contracts; consider and approve measures for execution of construction works and measures to ensure safety and environmental sanitation submitted by contractors;
b) Suspend the performance of or terminate construction contracts signed with construction contractors in accordance with regulations of law and under terms and conditions of such construction contracts;
c) Cease the execution of construction works, and request construction contractors to remedy consequences caused by violations against regulations on quality of works, safety and environmental protection;
d) Request other organizations and individuals to respect their rights during the execution of construction works;
dd) Exercise other rights as prescribed by law.
2. Project owners shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Select construction contractors appropriate to types and grades of works;
b) Arrange and transfer the land areas to construction contractors to meet the schedule of execution of construction works;
c) Organize quality supervision and management during execution of construction works in a manner that is suitable for project management forms and construction contracts;
d) Examine and grant approval of construction measures which must also specify measures to ensure safety and environmental sanitation;
dd) Organize acceptance testing, payment and final settlement of construction of works;
e) Hire qualified consultants to inspect the quality of works when necessary;
g) Consider and make decisions on design-related proposals submitted by contractors during execution of construction works;
h) Retain as-built documentation of works;
i) Take responsibility for the quality and origin of supplies, raw materials, materials, equipment, and construction products that they have supplied for use for works;
k) Pay compensation for damage caused by their breaches of construction contracts and other violations;
l) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 60. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project owners during supervision of execution of construction works
1. Project owners shall have the following rights:
a) Carry out supervision of execution of construction works themselves in accordance with provisions of this Law or hire qualified supervision contractors to do so; monitor, supervise and request supervision contractors to strictly comply with construction contracts;
b) Replace or request consultants to replace supervisors who fail to comply with regulations;
c) Suspend the performance or terminate construction contracts in accordance with regulations of law;
d) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Project owners shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Hire supervision consultants to carry out supervision of execution of construction works in case they do not perform such supervision tasks themselves; such supervision consultants must have capacity appropriate to types and grades of construction works;
b) Notify relevant parties of rights and obligations of supervision consultants;
c) Promptly respond to proposals of supervisors;
d) Fulfill all obligations specified in construction contracts, unless otherwise agreed;
dd) Retain results of supervision of execution of construction works;
e) Pay compensation for damage caused by their selection of unqualified supervision consultants to take charge of supervision of execution of construction works, acceptance of incorrect volume of works or works constructed against approved designs, and other violations;
g) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 61. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction contractors
1. Construction contractors shall have the following rights:
a) Reject obligations which are not specified in construction contracts or unlawful requests;
b) Propose modifications to construction designs to align them with actual execution of construction works, ensuring quality and efficiency;
c) Request payment under terms and conditions of construction contracts;
d) Cease execution of construction works when there are any risks to the safety of people and/or the works or employers fail to perform their commitments as stated in construction contracts;
dd) Request compensation for damage caused by employers or other entities;
e) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Construction contractors shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Comply with terms and conditions of construction contracts;
b) Develop and submit measures for execution of construction works, including measures to ensure safety and environmental sanitation, to project owners to seek their approval before starting execution of construction works;
c) Execute construction works according to approved designs, applicable standards and technical regulations, ensuring satisfaction of quality, schedule, safety and environmental protection requirements;
d) Have appropriate quality management systems in place and establish quality management records for the works;
dd) Comply with the requirements attached to construction sites;
e) Take responsibility for the quality and origin of supplies, raw materials, materials, equipment, and construction products that they have supplied for use for works;
g) Manage employees working at construction sites, ensuring security, public order and environmental protection;
h) Produce as-built drawings and engage in acceptance testing of works;
i) Provide warranty of works within the scope of tasks specified in construction contracts;
k) Pay compensation for damage caused by their breaches of construction contracts, use of incorrect types of materials, failure to meet the requirements of approved designs, failure to ensure quality during execution of construction works, acts of causing environmental pollution and other violations;
l) Bear responsibility before project owners and the law for the quality of construction works according to approved designs, including such tasks performed by subcontractors (if any); subcontractors shall bear responsibility before main contractors and the law for the quality of tasks they have performed;
m) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 62. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of design contractors during execution of construction works
1. Design contractors shall have the following rights:
a) Exercise the rights specified in clause 1 Article 35 of this Law;
b) Request project owners and construction contractors to strictly comply with approved designs;
c) Reject requests for changes in designs from project owners if these requests are found unconformable with regulations of law, applicable standards and technical regulations;
d) Refuse to accept construction works or work items which are constructed against approved designs;
dd) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Design contractors shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Discharge the obligations and responsibilities specified in clause 2 Article 35 of this Law;
b) Appoint qualified persons to take charge of designer’s supervision according to terms and conditions of construction contracts; persons in charge of designer’s supervision shall bear legal responsibility for their violations and compensate for damage caused by their fault;
c) Engage in acceptance testing of construction works according to construction contracts signed with project owners;
d) Consider dealing with unreasonable issues concerning construction designs at the request of project owners;
dd) Promptly notify project owners of any parts of construction works which are found to have been executed against approved designs, and propose remedial measures for dealing with such cases;
e) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Article 63. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of supervision contractors
1. Supervision contractors shall have the following rights:
a) Engage in acceptance testing of completed tasks, construction works or work items;
b) Request construction contractors to comply with approved designs and construction contracts;
c) Reserve their opinions on supervision tasks that they have performed;
d) Temporarily suspend execution of construction works when there are any risks to the safety of the works or contractors are found to have executed construction works against approved designs, and promptly notify such issues to project owners for consideration;
dd) Reject requests which fall beyond the scope of construction contracts or unlawful requests;
e) Exercise other rights as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
2. Supervision contractors shall discharge the following obligations and responsibilities:
a) Conduct supervision and assume responsibility for quality of supervision results as stated in construction contracts;
b) Refuse to accept construction works which fail to meet quality requirements; or fail to comply with applicable standards, technical regulations, or requirements of approved designs;
c) Propose unreasonable issues concerning construction designs to project owners;
d) Supervise the implementation of regulations on safety and environmental protection;
dd) Pay compensation for damage caused by falsified supervision results concerning construction volumes which do not conform to approved designs, applicable standards, or technical regulations but have not been reported by supervisors to project owners or competent persons for consideration, as well as other violations at their fault;
e) Discharge other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and prescribed by relevant laws.
Section 5. WARRANTY, MAINTENANCE AND TERMINATION OF OPERATION OR USE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Article 64. Warranty for construction works
1. Construction contractors shall provide warranty for the works that they have executed. Contractors supplying construction equipment and technological equipment shall provide warranty for the equipment that they have supplied.
Contents of warranty for works include remedy, repair, and replacement of damaged or defective equipment.
2. The warranty period for works, construction equipment and technological equipment shall be determined according to types and grades of the works, and regulations of manufacturers or construction contracts.
Article 65. Maintenance of construction works
1. Maintenance of construction works must meet the following requirements:
a) Construction works must be maintained during operation or use;
b) The maintenance procedures shall be developed and approved by project owners before putting construction works into operation or use; must be suitable to purposes, types and grades of construction works and equipment constructed and installed in the works;
c) Maintenance tasks must be performed in a manner that ensures the safety for people, property and the works.
2. Owners, managers or users of construction works are responsible for carrying out maintenance of their works.
3. Maintenance of construction works must comply with approved maintenance plans and procedures.
4. The safety of large-scale and complex engineering works, or works significantly affecting the community safety and interests, must be periodically assessed during their operation and use.
Article 66. Management, operation and use of construction works
1. Construction works must be properly managed, operated and used for their intended purposes and in a manner that meets safety, sustainability, socio-economic efficiency, and environmental protection requirements, and complies with relevant laws.
2. Management, operation or use and protection of technical infrastructure works must comply with provisions of clause 1 of this Article and also meet the following basic requirements:
a) Technical infrastructure works must be operated in uninterrupted and stable manner that meets operational management requirements and ensures consistency and synchronization;
b) Provided technical infrastructure services must meet quality criteria and standards, and satisfy the needs of organizations, individuals, and communities;
c) Technical infrastructure data must be shared to support the integrated management and the shared use needs as prescribed by law;
d) There are plans to protect and ensure the security and safety of technical infrastructure works, as well as to prevent, stop, and deal with any acts of infringement during their operation or use.
3. Management, operation or use and protection of technical infrastructure works must comply with the Government’s regulations.
Article 67. Cessation of operation and use of construction works
1. Project owners, owners, managers or users of works, or competent regulatory authorities shall decide to cease operation or use of construction works when their service life has expired, or if there is any safety risk or risk of causing construction work incidents affecting the safety of users, the safety of adjacent works, the environment, or the community.
2. When deciding to cease operation or use of shared construction works, project owners, owners, managers or users of the works, or competent regulatory authorities shall send written notices of their decision to the organizations, individuals and households using the works.
3. Operation or use of construction works may only be resumed after the construction work incident has been remedied or safety risks have been eliminated. In order to resume operation or use of construction works which has been ceased upon expiry of the service life of the works, project owners, or owners, managers or users of the works, must carry out quality inspection, reinforcement, renovation, or repair of damage (if any) in order to ensure the safety and functionality of the works.
Section 6. INVESTMENT IN AND CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Article 68. Projects on investment in and construction of particular construction works
1. Projects on investment in and construction of particular construction works include:
a) Projects or works that require strict state secret protection;
b) Emergency or urgent projects or construction works;
c) Special public investment projects;
d) Temporary projects or works.
2. Sequence and procedures for implementation of projects on investment in and construction of particular construction works shall comply with provisions of Articles 69, 70, 71 and 72 of this Law.
Article 69. Projects or works that require strict state secret protection
1. Works that require strict state secret protection include:
a) State-secret works of which the construction must meet the requirements regarding protection of secret in construction activities in fields or sectors as prescribed by the Law on protection of state secrets;
b) National defense and security works of which information and documents are considered state secrets according to decisions issued by competent authorities.
2. Agencies, organizations or individuals that are assigned to manage and carry out construction of state-secret works shall have the rights to decide the construction and organization of construction of such works from the stages of project formulation, survey, design, execution and supervision of execution of construction works to the stage of acceptance testing of the works for putting into operation or use, and shall bear responsibility for their decisions.
3. Persons competent to issue, or those delegated or authorized to issue, lists of state secrets as prescribed by the Law on protection of state secrets shall decide the construction of the works specified in point a clause 1 of this Article. The Minister of National Defense of Vietnam and Minister of Public Security of Vietnam shall stipule authority, sequence and procedures for investment in and construction of the works specified in point b clause 1 of this Article in a manner that meet particular sector management requirements and complies with regulations of relevant laws.
Article 70. Emergency or urgent projects or works
1. Construction of new emergency construction works or repair and renovation of existing ones shall be carried out immediately after competent persons issue orders for construction of emergency works in order to promptly prevent and mitigate consequences of disasters, catastrophes, or epidemics.
Agencies, organizations or individuals that are assigned to manage construction of emergency works are entitled to decide and assign other qualified organizations or individuals to conduct surveys, design and execution of the works in a manner that meets the requirements of the state of emergency. The sequence and procedures for making decisions on investment in emergency public investment projects shall comply with provisions of the Law on Public Investment.
2. Construction of new urgent construction works or repair and renovation of existing ones must be expedited to meet the requirements regarding national defense and security, external affairs, national economic development, fulfillment of national political missions, critical issues related to ensuring energy security or security of water sources, responding to environmental emergencies, and developing technical infrastructure systems according to the Government’s request or Prime Minister’s decisions.
Agencies, organizations or individuals that are assigned to manage construction of urgent works are entitled to carry out necessary procedures concurrently for the stages of project preparation, implementation, and completion, in the order stipulated by the Government.
3. The Minister of National Defense of Vietnam and Minister of Public Security of Vietnam shall stipulate the authority, sequence and procedures for investment in and construction of emergency and urgent construction works to serve national defense and security purposes in a manner that meets particular sector management requirements.
Article 71. Special public investment projects
1. The sequence and procedures for making investment decisions, and organization of implementation of special public investment projects shall comply with provisions of the Law on Public Investment. Investment decision-makers and project owners are entitled to decide application of simplified procedures for some tasks specified in clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.
2. Preparation and appraisal of feasibility study reports shall comply with the following provisions:
a) The investment decision-maker shall decide to use fundamental design, FEED design or engineering design as part of the feasibility study report, and decide the number of design steps.
b) The feasibility study report shall be verified to form the basis for its appraisal and approval;
c) The specialized agency affiliated to the investment decision-maker shall conduct the appraisal of the feasibility study report with the following subject matters: investment scale; regional technical infrastructure connectivity; compliance with applicable standards and technical regulations; factors constituting the construction safety; satisfaction of fire safety requirements as prescribed by the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue; technological design plans, for projects having technological requirements; total investment of the project; plan for division of the project into constituent projects, and investment phasing (if any).
3. Production and appraisal of construction design following the design included in feasibility study report shall be subject to the following provisions:
a) The project owner shall decide the production of the construction design, and subject matters of appraisal and approval thereof;
b) The construction design may be produced for the entire work, or each work item or part, or each stage of execution of the construction work; it shall be produced concurrently with the formulation and appraisal of feasibility study report, project approval and execution of the construction work;
c) The construction design shall be subject to assessment and conclusion by a verification consultant as to its compliance with applicable standards and technical regulations, fulfillment of requirements regarding the safety of load-bearing structures and safety of adjacent works, and fulfillment of fire safety requirements laid down in the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue.
4. The investment decision-maker and project owner shall assume responsibility for their decisions; relevant organizations and individuals shall assume responsibility for results of the tasks that they have performed.
Article 72. Temporary projects or construction works
1. Temporary projects or construction works include:
a) Works constructed to support the execution of main construction works;
b) Works used for organizing events with their locations, scale and service life approved by provincial-level People’s Committees or commune-level People’s Committees as delegated.
2. Design and execution of temporary works must ensure satisfaction of the requirements regarding the safety of load-bearing structures, fire safety and environmental protection during execution and use of the works. Project owners shall organize the appraisal and approval of construction designs and cost estimates of temporary works themselves.
3. Temporary construction works must be demolished when their service life has expired or the main works are put into operation and use, except the works specified in point a clause 1 of this Article, which are conformable with planning as prescribed by the Law on Planning and the Law on Urban and Rural Planning.
CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT COSTS AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
Section 1. MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT COSTS
Article 73. Rules for management of construction investment costs
1. Management of construction investment costs of public investment projects and PPP projects must abide by the following rules:
a) Construction investment costs shall be managed in a manner ensuring investment objectives, project efficiency, and conformity with the construction investment sequence, investment form, division of the project into constituent projects, and investment phasing (if any).
Construction investment costs must be determined for each design type, in alignment with each stage of the project, construction conditions and market prices, and for each project, or construction work or package; they shall be detailed further for each design step corresponding to each stage of the project;
b) Project owners shall manage construction investment costs from the stage of project preparation to the stage of construction completion, provided that approved total construction investment of the project shall not be exceeded;
c) Inspection, examination and audit of construction investment costs shall be conducted on the basis of conditions for and methods of determining construction investment costs which have already been decided or approved by investment decision-makers and project owners, in accordance with regulations on management of construction investment costs, for each project implementation stage or period.
2. Management of construction investment costs for projects other than those specified in clause 1 of this Article shall be decided or carried out by investment decision-makers or project owners in accordance with regulations on management of construction investment costs herein.
Article 74. Contents of management of construction investment costs
1. Determination, verification, appraisal, approval and adjustment of preliminarily estimated total investment, total construction investment, construction cost estimate, construction package price, and construction contract price; payment and final settlement of construction contract, payment and final settlement of investment capital; project management costs, construction consultancy costs, and other costs.
2. Determination, use and management of construction norms, construction prices, prices of direct cost factors constituting prices of construction tasks, and construction price indices.
3. Rights and responsibilities of regulatory authorities, investment decision-makers, project owners and construction contractors during management of construction investment costs.
4. The Government shall elaborate management of construction investment costs.
Article 75. Preliminarily estimated total construction investment and total construction investment
1. Preliminarily estimated total construction investment is the sum of all construction investment costs of a project that is estimated on the basis of investment scope, sale and objectives, preliminary design plan, and subject matters of the pre-feasibility study report. In case an investment policy proposal report is prepared according to regulations of the Law on Public Investment, estimated total investment for group-B or group-C projects shall be considered as preliminarily estimated total investment.
2. Total construction investment is an estimated amount of all costs of the project incurring from the stage of project preparation to the stage of construction completion, including compensation, support and residential resettlement costs (if any); construction costs; equipment costs (if any); project management costs; construction consultancy costs; other costs and contingencies. Approved total construction investment shall be the maximum amount of funding that the project owner may use for covering costs during the project implementation.
Total construction investment shall serve as the basis for calculating and determining the investment efficiency and feasibility of the project, as well as for capital management purpose. Total construction investment shall be determined in conformity with the construction design and subject matters of the feasibility study report or technical-economic report, for projects which only require preparation of technical-economic report.
3. Determination of cost items constituting total construction investment shall be subject to the following provisions:
a) Cost items constituting total construction investment shall be determined on the basis of designs and requirements of the project; by reference to construction prices, equipment prices and construction price indices announced by competent regulatory authorities, or market prices or prices quoted by manufacturers or supplies, or data on costs of similar domestic works which either have been completed or are in progress, and regulations and guidelines on determination of costs;
b) Where there are insufficient grounds for determining costs according to prices and cost data specified in point a of this clause, prices and cost data of foreign works and/or projects which either have been completed or are in progress may be employed as reference for determination of costs.
4. If a project is divided into constituent projects, determination of total investment in each constituent project shall comply with provisions of clauses 2 and 3 of this Article. If a project is divided into constituent projects during the preparation of feasibility study report or technical-economic report, total construction investment of the project shall be the sum of total construction investment amounts of its constituent projects and other reasonable costs.
5. Adjustment of preliminarily estimated total construction investment and total construction investment shall be subjected to the following provisions:
a) Preliminarily estimated total construction investment shall be adjusted in case the investment policy is adjusted according to regulations of law, resulting in changes in the approved preliminarily estimated total construction investment;
b) Total construction investment shall be adjusted in case the project is adjusted according to regulations of law, resulting in changes in the approved total construction investment.
Article 76. Construction cost estimates
1. Construction cost estimate means a statement of estimated costs for construction of work, implementation of the package, and performance of construction tasks.
2. Cost estimate for construction of work:
a) The cost estimate for construction of work means a statement of all estimated costs for investment in and construction of the work, determined on the basis of the construction design developed upon project approval. The cost estimate for construction of work specifies costs of construction, design (if any), project management, and construction consultancy, other costs and contingencies.
b) The cost estimate for construction of work shall be prepared on the basis of design requirements; by reference to construction prices, equipment prices and construction price indices announced by competent regulatory authorities, or market prices or prices quoted by manufacturers or supplies, or data on costs of similar domestic works which either have been completed or are in progress, and regulations and guidelines on determination of costs;
c) Where there are insufficient grounds for preparing the cost estimate according to prices and cost data specified in point b of this clause, prices and cost data of foreign works and/or projects which either have been completed or are in progress may be employed as reference for determination of costs.
3. Cost estimate for construction package:
a) The cost estimate for construction package means a statement of all estimated costs for performing one or some construction activities during various stages of the project’s construction investment process, in conformity with the contents, scope, nature, characteristics and specific conditions of the package;
b) The cost estimate for construction package shall be prepared on the basis of one or some of the following grounds: preliminarily estimated total construction investment, total construction investment, cost estimate for construction of work, construction design developed upon project approval, and the outline and scope of tasks. In case the cost estimate for construction package is prepared on the basis of the construction design developed upon project approval, prices, cost data and regulations and guidelines on determination of costs specified in points b and c clause 2 of this Article may be employed as reference.
4. Cost estimate for construction tasks means a statement of all estimated costs for performing one or some tasks within the scope of construction activities during the various stages of the project’s construction investment process, in conformity with the contents, scope, nature, and characteristics of each task.
5. Depending on specific conditions of each project, the project owner shall decide to prepare the construction cost estimate using either the cost estimate for construction of work or cost estimate for construction package or cost estimate for construction tasks.
6. Construction cost estimate of a public investment project is used as the basis for determining the package price, selecting contractor, and negotiating and entering into construction contract.
7. The approved construction cost estimate may be adjusted in case of project adjustment, adjustment of total investment cost, adjustment of construction design, and other cases prescribed by the Government. The adjusted construction cost estimate shall be appraised and approved as prescribed.
Article 77. Construction norms
1. The system of construction norms includes technical-economic norms and cost norms. Technical-economic norms include basic norms and cost estimate norms.
2. The system of construction norms shall be developed and issued by regulatory authorities; periodically reviewed and updated.
3. For construction works executed applying or using new execution technologies or materials which are not yet included in the system of construction norms specified in clause 2 of this Article, owners of public investment projects shall be responsible for organizing surveys and providing data at the request of regulatory authorities.
4. Other agencies and organizations are encouraged to develop and send cost estimate norms to the authorities in charge of issuing such norms specified in clause 2 of this Article.
5. The system of construction norms specified in clause 2 of this Article is applied to public investment projects. If there are no norms or the existing ones are not suitable, norms may be developed, applied and adjusted, or construction prices may be determined according to provisions of Article 78 of this Law to prepare construction cost estimates, determine total construction investment, and manage construction investment costs.
6. For projects other than those specified in clause 5 of this Article, the norm system specified in clause 2 of this Article shall be used as reference for determining construction prices, construction cost estimates, total construction investment, and managing construction investment costs.
Article 78. Construction prices, prices of direct cost factors constituting prices of construction tasks, and construction price indices
1. Construction prices include prices of construction tasks, prices of construction task groups, prices of structural parts or units of the work, cost rates and construction investment capital rates.
Construction prices are determined on the basis of one or more of the following grounds: market prices; prices and cost data of completed or in-progress packages, projects, or works; the system of construction norms and prices of cost factors specified in clause 2 of this Article.
Depending on specific conditions of each project or work, the construction prices are selected as the basis for determining total construction investment and preparing construction cost estimate.
2. Prices of direct cost factors constituting prices of construction tasks include prices of materials, labor prices, and prices of construction machine and equipment per shift.
3. Construction price index is an indicator which reflects the level of time-based fluctuation of construction investment costs (according to types of works and structure of costs), and prices of cost factors specified in clause 2 of this Article, and serves as a basis for determining and adjusting preliminarily estimated total investment, total construction investment, construction cost estimates, and prices of construction contracts, and for managing construction investment costs.
Article 79. Payment and final settlement of investment capital for construction investment projects
1. Payment and final settlement of investment capital for construction investment projects shall be carried out in accordance with provisions of this Law, regulations of the Law on State Budget, the Law on Public Investment, and other relevant laws.
2. Final settlement of construction investment capital must be carried out after completion, acceptance testing and transfer of the project or construction work for putting into operation or use, or when the investment policy is ceased, or the project implementation is temporarily suspended or cancelled according to a competent person’s written document.
Section 2. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
Article 80. General provisions on construction contracts
1. A construction contract is a written agreement entered into by and between an employer and a contractor to establish, change or terminate civil rights and obligations relating to performance of tasks within the scope of construction activities.
2. Conclusion and performance of construction contracts must comply with provisions of this Law, the civil law, and other relevant laws. In addition, when entering into construction contracts for implementation of public investment projects and PPP projects, the parties must also adhere to the following rules:
a) Ensure sufficient resources to fulfill the obligations as agreed upon in the construction contract;
b) Have completed the contractor selection and construction contract negotiation (if any);
c) In case the contractor is a consortium or joint venture, a consortium or joint venture agreement must be available. The construction contract must be signed by all members of the consortium or joint venture, unless otherwise agreed upon by such members.
3. The language used in a construction contract is Vietnamese. If the construction contract involves a foreign party, the languages used in the contract shall be Vietnamese and another language as agreed upon by the parties. The order of priority of the languages used in the construction contract shall be agreed upon by the parties. In the absence of such agreement, Vietnamese shall be the governing language.
Article 81. Validity and legal effect of construction contracts
1. A construction contract shall become valid when it satisfies relevant conditions for validity of civil transactions set out in the civil law, and is signed by the parties that meet all eligibility and capacity requirements set forth in this Law.
2. A valid construction contract serves as the legal basis for the parties to perform their obligations and resolve disputes. Any disputes concerning the matters which are not agreed upon by the parties in the construction contract shall be resolved in accordance with provisions of this Law, the civil law, and other relevant laws.
3. While performing their functions and tasks as prescribed, regulatory authorities, inspection, examination and audit agencies, payment service providers, lenders and other relevant agencies shall respect the construction contracts that are lawfully entered into and legally effective; shall not infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of the parties to the construction contract.
4. A lawfully signed construction contract shall become effective from the date on which it is entered into or another date as agreed upon by the parties; where the construction contract is notarized, its effective date shall be determined in accordance with provisions of the Law on Notarization. From the effective date of the construction contract, the parties shall perform their respective rights and obligations as committed. A construction contract may be modified or terminated as agreed upon by the parties or in accordance with regulations of law.
Article 82. Classification, contents and documentation of construction contracts
1. Depending on the nature and scope of required tasks, construction contracts are classified into the following types:
a) Construction consultancy contract;
b) Contract for execution of construction works;
c) Contract for supply of materials and equipment installed in construction works;
d) Contract for design – supply of materials and equipment installed in construction works;
dd) Contract for design – execution of construction works;
e) Contract for supply of materials and equipment – execution of construction works;
g) Contract for design – supply of materials and equipment – execution of construction works;
h) Turnkey contract;
i) Other construction contracts.
2. Depending on the contract price form, construction contracts are classified into the following types:
a) Lump-sum contract;
b) Fixed unit price contract;
c) Adjustable unit price contract;
d) Time-based contract;
dd) Cost-plus-fee contract;
e) Output-based contract;
g) Percentage-based contract;
h) Mixed contract;
i) Other construction contracts.
3. Construction contracts may also be classified according to other criteria.
4. Contents of construction contracts vary depending on the scale, nature and complexity of the tasks of the contract. A construction contract shall, inter alia, include:
a) Applicable legal grounds;
b) Governing law and language;
c) Scope and quantity or volume of tasks;
d) Requirements regarding quality, engineering, acceptance testing and transfer of works;
dd) Duration and schedule for performance of construction contract;
e) Contract price, advance payment, payment, final settlement, currency used for payment, and finalization of construction contract;
g) Security for performance of the parties’ obligations under the construction contract;
h) Modification of construction contract;
i) Rights and obligations of the parties;
k) Liability for breach of the construction contract, bonuses, and penalties for breach of construction contract;
l) Suspension and termination of construction contract;
m) Resolution of disputes over construction contract;
n) Risks, force majeure events and fundamental changes in circumstances;
o) Other relevant contents.
5. A set of construction contract documents includes the construction contract, appendixes and other documents attached to the construction contract. The order of priority of the documents included in the construction contract shall be agreed upon by the parties. In the absence of such agreement, the following order of priority shall apply:
a) Construction contract agreement (if any);
b) Notice of acceptance and contract award or direct contracting;
c) Letter of bid;
d) Special conditions of the construction contract or terms of reference for a construction consultancy contract;
dd) General conditions of the construction contract;
e) Bidding documents or the request for proposal issued by the employer;
g) Design drawings and technical specifications;
h) Bid package or proposal of the contractor;
i) Record of contract negotiation, and documents concerning modification of the construction contract;
k) Appendixes to the construction contract;
l) Other relevant documents.
Article 83. Security for performance of obligations under construction contract
1. The parties may reach an agreement on measures to secure the performance of their obligations under the signed construction contract. If such an agreement is made, the parties are obligated to implement the agreed-upon security measure until their obligations under the construction contract are fulfilled or the furnished security is refunded as agreed upon by the parties. The rights and obligations of the parties in relation to security for the performance of obligations under the construction contract must comply with the provisions of this Law, the civil law, and other relevant laws.
2. The employer has the right to request the contractor to adopt a measure to secure performance of its obligations under the construction contract; the contractor must provide security for performance of its obligations under the construction contract as agreed upon by the parties. The employer is entitled to dispose of the collateral or request the relevant guarantor to fulfill its guarantee obligations, or request the credit institution where the deposit is made to fulfill the payment obligation in the event the contractor fails to fulfill its obligations under the construction contract as agreed upon by the parties, leading to a failure to ensure safety, quality, schedule or progress, or the contractor refuses to perform the construction contract.
3. The contractor is entitled to request the employer to prove that it is financially capable of performing the construction contract or to adopt a measure to secure performance of its payment obligations, except construction contracts belonging to public investment projects. The contractor is entitled to dispose of the collateral or request the relevant guarantor to fulfill its guarantee obligations, or request the credit institution where the deposit is made to fulfill the payment obligations in the event the employer fails to fulfill its payment obligations under the construction contract. The employer shall bear the burden to prove its sufficient financial capacity to perform the construction contract or adopt a measure to secure its payment obligations as agreed upon by the parties.
4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on measures and levels of security for performance of obligations under construction contracts for public investment projects and PPP projects.
Article 84. Modification of construction contracts
1. Modifications to a construction contract include changes in the quantity or volume, implementation duration, schedule or progress, unit price, and contract price, and changes in other contents of the signed contract. Such modifications to the construction contract shall be applied during the validity period of the construction contract and must be made in writing.
2. The parties may reach an agreement on modification of the signed construction contract in the following cases:
a) There are changes in the State policies or laws that directly affect the performance of the construction contract;
b) There are changes in or adjustments to the contents, scope of tasks, technical specifications, product quality, implementation schedule or progress, or advance and payment conditions as agreed upon by the parties in the construction contract;
c) Any of the force majeure events specified in clause 1 Article 13 of this Law occurs;
d) There is a fundamental change in circumstances for performance of the construction contract as prescribed in clause 2 Article 13 of this Law;
dd) In other cases as agreed upon by the parties in conformity with provisions of this Law and other relevant laws.
3. In addition to the provisions of clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, modification of construction contracts under public investment projects and PPP projects must also comply with the following provisions:
a) Changes in unit price shall only apply to adjustable unit price contract, time-based contract, mixed contract and other construction contracts including provisions that allow such changes in unit price;
b) Any change in the unit price of a construction contract shall be made on the basis of the contents, scope of tasks, methods and grounds for changes in unit price agreed upon by the parties in the signed contract and in conformity with regulations of law;
c) The employer shall have the right to consider deciding any modification to the construction contract resulting in changes in the contract performance schedule or an increase in the approved package price (including contingencies) provided that the approved project implementation duration (or adjusted project implementation duration) or the approved total investment (or adjusted total investment) will not be exceeded;
d) In cases of force majeure events or fundamental changes in circumstances, the employer shall have the right to consider deciding modifications to construction contract following the rule that such modifications will not alter the investment objectives or scale, result in an increase in total investment in excess of the approved total investment (or adjusted total investment), cause adverse impacts on the project’s investment efficiency, or lead to losses or waste. Such modifications to construction contract include changes in the contract type, contract price form, methods and data sources for price adjustment, and changes in other relevant contents.
4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on methods, contents, and procedures for modification of construction contracts.
Article 85. Suspension and termination of construction contracts
1. The parties must include in the signed construction contract their agreement on the cases in which the contract may be suspended, suspension duration and procedures. The performance of the signed construction contract may be suspended in one of the following cases:
a) One party fails to fulfill its obligations under the construction contract as committed;
b) Any of the force majeure events specified in clause 1 Article 13 of this Law occurs;
c) Such suspension is made at the request of a competent regulatory authority;
d) There are changes in laws that directly affect the performance of the construction contract.
2. A construction contract shall be terminated in accordance with the civil law’s regulations on termination of contracts and in the following cases:
a) One of the force majeure events specified in clause 1 Article 13 of this Law occurs but the parties cannot reach an agreement on modification of the contract due to one or both parties’ failure to meet eligibility and capacity requirements for performance of the contract. Legal consequences shall be determined and rectified in accordance with regulations of law on civil liabilities upon occurrence of force majeure events;
b) If the tasks of the signed construction contract are suspended for a period exceeding the duration specified in the contract through no fault of the other party, the non-breaching party is entitled to cancel or unilaterally terminate such construction contract.
3. In order to suspend or terminate the signed construction contract, the party making such suspension or termination shall give a written notice in advance to the other, except force majeure events. Such notice must clearly state the reasons for suspension or termination, effective date and associated consequences. The party failing to fulfill such notification obligation shall pay compensation for any damage caused to the other as prescribed by law.
4. Any party that suspends, unilaterally terminates or cancels the signed construction contract against regulations of law shall pay compensation for any damage caused to the other and discharge other obligations as prescribed by the civil law.
Article 86. Bonuses, penalties for breach of construction contracts, compensation for damage due to breaches, and resolution of construction contract disputes
1. Bonuses, penalties and compensation for damage due to breaches of construction contract must be agreed upon by the parties and specified in the construction contract. The specific bonus shall correspond to the level of fulfillment of obligations under the construction contract as agreed upon by the parties.
2. Compensation for damage shall be determined on the basis of the damage actually incurred, predetermined damages corresponding to the obligations which are not fulfilled, and the extent of such breach.
3. Regarding construction works belonging to public investment projects or PPP projects, the maximum penalty for breach of the construction contract shall not exceed 12% of the value of the breached portion of the construction contract. In addition to the agreed-upon penalty, the breaching party shall pay compensation for damage as agreed upon in the construction contract to the other party, the third party (if any) in accordance with provisions of this Law and other relevant laws.
4. In the case where a party breaches the construction contract due to the actions of a third party, the breaching party shall be responsible for such breach of the construction contract before the other party. Disputes between the breaching party and the third party shall be resolved in accordance with regulations of law.
5. Methods for resolution of disputes over the construction contract:
a) Disputes are to be resolved through negotiation between the concerned parties, conciliation, dispute resolution models under international practices, arbitration, or court proceedings.
b) If disputes arising from public investment projects or PPP projects are to be resolved through arbitration, preference shall be given to domestic arbitration organizations. Application of dispute resolution models under international practices must meet the requirements of relevant international conventions or must be approved by investment decision-makers and agreed upon by the parties in the construction contract. Dispute resolution costs incurred by the employer (if any) shall be included in the project’s total investment.
Article 87. Payment, final settlement and finalization of construction contracts
1. A construction contract must include provisions on payment, provisional payment, final settlement and finalization of the construction contract. Provisions on final settlement and finalization of the construction contract must also include cases where the contract is unilaterally settled and finalized.
2. Payment for construction contract:
a) The payment for construction contract must be conformable with the type of contract, the contract price and conditions stated in the contract. The parties shall reach an agreement on the method, schedule, required documents, and conditions for payment or provisional payment;
b) The employer shall make each payment in full and on schedule as agreed upon in the construction contract to the contractor after deducting advance payments and amounts retained as agreed upon in the construction contract, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties;
c) The currency used for making payments for a construction contract shall be Vietnamese Dong (VND). Use of foreign currency for making such payments must comply with regulations of law on foreign exchange management.
3. The contractor shall be responsible for conducting the final settlement of the construction contract with the employer in a manner suitable to the contract type and contract price, and within the settlement period as agreed upon by the parties. Contents and required documents for final settlement of the construction contract must be conformable with the agreements in the construction contract.
4. Procedures, time limit, and form of finalization of a construction contract upon termination of the contract as prescribed in clause 2 Article 85 of this Law shall be agreed upon by the parties.
5. If one party fails to carry out the final settlement and finalization of the construction contract as agreed upon in the construction contract, the other party shall have the right to unilaterally conduct the final settlement and finalization of the construction contract.
COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PERFORMING CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
Article 88. Competency requirements to be satisfied by organizations and individuals engaged in construction activities
1. During their engagement in construction activities, the following title holders must possess corresponding practicing certificates in accordance with provisions of this Law: presidents or chairpersons in charge of producing urban and rural planning designs; presidents in charge of construction surveys; presidents or chairpersons in charge of producing and verifying construction designs; construction supervisors; chairpersons in charge of determining, verifying and managing construction investment costs. Practicing certificates shall be classified into class I, class II and class III.
2. The following title holders, including site managers, chairpersons in charge of construction inspection tasks, and construction investment project managers, must meet competency and experience requirements.
3. Contractors that are foreign organizations or individuals engaging in construction activities in Vietnam must comply with regulations of the law of Vietnam and obtain licenses to perform construction activities issued by competent construction authorities.
4. Organizations and individuals that practice architecture shall comply with provisions of the Law on Architecture.
5. Employers shall assume responsibility for their selection of organizations and individuals to engage in construction activities.
6. Organizations engaging in construction activities shall themselves publish information about their capacity for performing construction activities on the website of the Ministry of Construction. Such published information about capacity of organizations shall serve as reference for employers to select qualified contractors.
7. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on competency and experience requirements to be satisfied by individuals engaging in construction activities; regulations on authority, procedures, and sequence for issuance and revocation of construction practicing certificates; regulations on eligibility requirements, authority, procedures, and sequence for issuance and revocation of licenses to perform construction activities of contractors that are foreign organizations or individuals; information about capacity to perform construction activities of organizations to be published; and publishing of individuals’ professional experience in construction activities on the information system and national database on construction activities.
Article 89. Eligibility requirements for construction practicing certificates
In order to be issued with a practicing certificate to engage in construction activities, an individual is required to meet the following eligibility requirements:
1. Have qualifications appropriate to the fields of the practicing certificate applied for;
2. Have period and experience of performing the tasks appropriate to the fields of the practicing certificate applied for.
Article 90. Requirements for independent practitioners
Individuals who independently practice in the following fields of construction activities: construction survey; production and verification of construction designs; construction supervision; determination, verification, and management of construction investment costs, must have practicing certificates and qualifications suitable for the tasks they perform.
STATE MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION
Article 91. Contents of state management of construction
1. Formulate and direct the implementation of strategies, schemes, and plans for development of construction activities.
2. Promulgate and organize the implementation of legislative documents on construction; disseminate knowledge and laws on construction.
3. Formulate and promulgate technical regulations and standards on construction; set, issue and announce construction norms, construction prices, construction price indices, and prices of direct cost factors constituting prices of construction tasks.
4. Develop and manage the information system and national database on construction activities, and retain documents on construction works.
5. Provide guidance on, inspect and evaluate the performance of construction investment project management tasks; quality management for construction works; management of construction investment costs and construction contracts; management of capability to perform construction activities; management of occupational safety and health, and environmental protection during execution of construction works.
6. Manage issuance and revocation of licenses or permits, certificates, certifications and processing outputs of other administrative procedures in construction activities, and manage construction order.
7. Carry out examination and inspection, settle complaints and denunciations, and take actions against violations in construction activities.
8. Organize science and technology research and application.
9. Provide training in human resources engaging in construction activities.
10. Conduct international cooperation in construction activities.
Article 92. Responsibilities for state management of construction
1. The Government is responsible for consistently performing state management of construction activities nationwide; define tasks and powers of Ministries, central-government authorities, local governments, and specialized construction work-managing Ministries in performing state management of construction.
2. The Ministry of Construction shall assist the Government in consistently performing state management of construction. Specialized construction work-managing Ministries shall, within the ambit of their assigned powers, cooperate with the Ministry of Construction in performing state management of construction.
3. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security are responsible for managing construction order and delegating powers to others to manage construction order for construction works built in land areas dedicated to serve national defense and security purposes as prescribed by the Land Law, state-secret works, emergency or urgent works in service of national defense and security purposes; set and issue norms of cost estimates and construction prices which are yet to be issued and announced by competent regulatory authorities, or which have been issued and announced but are not in line with the specific characteristics of the construction works built to serve national defense and security purposes; perform other state management tasks within the ambit of their assigned tasks and powers.
4. Provincial-level People’s Committees are responsible for performing state management of construction activities in their provincial administrative divisions in accordance with regulations of law.
Article 93. Amendments to and abrogation of certain articles, clauses and points of laws relating to construction activities
1. Certain Articles and clauses of the Law on Public Investment No. 58/2024/QH15, as amended by the Law No. 90/2025/QH15, are amended and abrogated as follows:
a) Clause 1 Article 34 is amended as follows:
“1. Pre-feasibility study reports of projects of national significance and group-A projects with construction components shall, inter alia, include the following contents:
a) Preliminary design as prescribed by the Law on Construction;
b) Other contents as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.”;
b) Clause 3 Article 43 is amended as follows:
“3. Procedures for formulation, appraisal, making of investment decision and adjustment of projects with construction components shall be subject to provisions of the Law on Construction and other relevant laws.”;
c) Point d clause 2 Article 38 is abrogated.
2. Some points of clause 1 Article 17 of the Law on Fire Safety, Search and Rescue No. 55/2024/QH15, as amended by the Law No. 118/2025/QH15, are amended as follows:
a) Point b is amended as follows:
“b) Specialized construction agencies shall organize appraisal of the contents specified in points a, b, c, d and dd clause 1 Article 16 of this Law in respect of the projects of which fire safety designs must be appraised before appraisal of their feasibility study reports in accordance with regulations of the Law on Construction;”;
b) The phrase “thiết kế xây dựng triển khai sau thiết kế cơ sở” (“construction design developed following fundamental design”) is replaced with the phrase “thiết kế xây dựng triển khai sau khi dự án được phê duyệt” (“construction design developed upon project approval”) in points d and dd.
3. Clause 1 Article 79 of the Law on Electricity No. 61/2024/QH15, as amended by the Law No. 116/2025/QH15, is abrogated.
4. Clause 1 Article 56 of the Law on Railway Transport No. 95/2025/QH15, as amended by the Law No. 112/2025/QH15, is abrogated.
1. This Law comes into force from July 01, 2026, except the cases prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.
2. Clause 2, clause 3 Article 43, Article 71 and clauses 3, 4, 5 Article 95 of this Law come into force from January 01, 2026.
3. The Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13, as amended by the Law No. 03/2016/QH14, the Law No. 35/2018/QH14, the Law No. 40/2019/QH14, the Law No. 62/2020/QH14, the Law No. 45/2024/QH15, the Law No. 47/2024/QH15, the Law No. 55/2024/QH15, the Law No. 61/2024/QH15, the Law No. 84/2025/QH15, the Law No. 93/2025/QH15 and the Law No. 95/2025/QH15 (hereinafter referred to as the “Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13”) shall cease to have effect from the date of entry into force of this Law.
4. The Government shall elaborate clause 1 Article 6, Article 7, Article 8, Article 11, Article 16, point a clause 1 Article 18, Article 19, Article 21, Article 22, clause 3 Article 23, Article 32, Article 42, Article 47, clause 1 Article 48, Article 49, Article 51, Article 54, Article 55, Article 58, Article 64, Article 65, Article 67, Article 68; Article 79, Article 82, Article 85, and Article 87 and provide guidelines on the implementation of this Law.
1. Procedures for re-approval of construction investment projects or construction designs which have been approved before July 01, 2026 are not required but their subsequent steps or activities must comply with provisions of this Law.
2. If construction designs developed following fundamental designs of construction works have been duly appraised by specialized construction agencies in accordance with provisions of the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13 but need to be further adjusted, appraisal of such adjusted designs by specialized construction agencies shall not be required.
3. In case of adjustment of construction designs of the construction works built under the construction permits issued in accordance with the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13, procedures for modification of the issued construction permits shall not be required if such construction works are eligible to be exempt from the construction permit requirement as prescribed in this Law.
Construction works that are exempt from the construction permit requirement as prescribed by the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13 and meet the conditions for commencement of construction before January 01, 2026 will continue to be exempt from the construction permit requirement as prescribed.
4. If results of appraisal of construction designs developed following fundamental design of construction works notified by specialized construction agencies show that they meet conditions for approval and meet requirements for construction permit prescribed by the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13, such construction works shall be exempt from the construction permit requirement.
5. Regarding construction works belonging to projects that have been granted construction permits before January 01, 2026, if their adjusted feasibility study reports have been duly appraised by specialized construction agencies and approved, procedures for modification of issued construction permits shall not be required. If adjusted feasibility study reports for construction works belonging to projects have been duly appraised by specialized construction agencies in accordance with the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13 and approved, they shall be exempt from the construction permit requirement.
6. Construction investment project management boards established before July 01, 2026 are not required to change their forms of organization of project management in accordance with provisions of this Law.
7. Construction contracts signed before July 01, 2026 shall continue to be governed by provisions of the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13 and shall be subject to provisions of this Law upon occurrence of any force majeure events or fundamental changes in circumstances. From the effective date of this Law, for construction contracts under negotiation or completion, the parties may reach an agreement on application of provisions of this Law in a manner ensuring their consistency with the contractor selection process (if any) and compliance with other relevant laws.
8. Inspection of acceptance testing of construction works commenced before July 01, 2026 which are subject to acceptance testing inspection as prescribed in the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13 but are not subject to acceptance testing inspection under provisions of this Law shall not be required. Employers shall organize quality management, management of execution of construction works, acceptance testing and transfer of completed construction works for putting into operation or use as prescribed, and assume responsibility for such acceptance testing results.
This Law is ratified by the 15th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during its 10th Session held on December 10, 2025.
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CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF VIETNAM Tran Thanh Man |
