Circular No. 23/2010/TT-BKH dated December 13, 2010 of the Ministry of Planning and Investment prescribing capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals

CIRCULAR

PRESCRIBING CAPACITY CONDITIONS OF INVESTMENT PROJECT EVALUATION CONSULTANCY ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND INVESTMENT

Pursuant to Law No. 38/2009/QH12 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Laws concerning Capital Construction In vest me) 11;

Pursuant to Investment Law No. 59/2005/ QH11;

Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 113/2009/ND-CP of December 15, 2009. on investment monitoring and evaluation;

Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 116/2008/ND-CP of November 14.2008. defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

The Ministry of Planning and Investment details capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals as follows:

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation:

This Circular details capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals specified in Clauses 4 and 5. Article 7 of the Government s Decree No. 113/2009/ND-CP of December 15. 2009. on investment monitoring and evaluation (below referred to as Decree No. 113/CP).

2. Subjects of application:

This Circular applies to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals providing investment project evaluation consultancy in Vietnam.

Article 2. Capacity of investment project evaluation consultancy individuals

1. To provide investment project evaluation consultancy, an individual must fully meet the prescribed capacity conditions relevant to the characteristics of jobs under each investment project.

2. To provide investment project evaluation consultancy, an individual must possess diplomas and certificates of professional training in investment project evaluation granted by a lawful Vietnamese or foreign training institution.

The provision of this Clause will apply from September 1. 2011.

3. Investment project evaluation consultancy individuals shall be classified based on the following criteria:

a/ Professional qualifications;

b/ Experience in providing investment project evaluation consultancy or performing jobs relating to investment management (formulation, appraisal and verification, and management of investment projects).

Article 3. Capacity of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations

1. To provide investment project evaluation consultancy, an organization must fully meet the capacity conditions specified in this Circular.

2. Investment project evaluation consultancy organizations shall be classified based on the following criteria:

a/ Capacity of individuals within the organization;

b/ Financial capacity, number of employees, equipment and machines (including supporting software) it has or hires for the performance of jobs as required.

Chapter II

CAPACITY CONDITIONS OF INVESTMENT PROJECT EVALUATION CONSULTANCY ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 4. Capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy individuals

1. Investment project evaluation consultancy individuals shall be classified into class 1 and class 2.

2. Capacity of a class-2 investment project evaluation consultancy individual:

a/ Possessing university or higher degree;

b/ At least 5 years performing investment management-related jobs;

c/ Meeting one of the following conditions:

- Having evaluated at least 1 group-B project;

- Having evaluated at least 2 group-C projects;

- Having formulated at least 5 group-B projects (or their feasibility study reports):

- Having formulated at least 10 projects (or their feasibility study reports);

- Having verified or appraised at least 5 group-B projects;

- Having verified or appraised at least 10 projects;

- Having managed at least 2 group-B projects;

- Having managed at least 4 projects.

d/ Having been trained in investment project evaluation and possessing a training certificate granted by a lawful Vietnamese or foreign investment project evaluation training institution-

3. Capacity of a class-1 investment project evaluation consultancy individual:

a/ Possessing university or higher degree;

b/ At least 3 years working as a class-2 investment project evaluation consultant or at least 8 years performing investment management-related jobs;

c/ Meeting one of the following conditions:

- Having evaluated at least 1 national important project;

- Having evaluated at least 2 group-A projects;

- Having evaluated at least 5 group-B projects;

- Having formulated at least 1 national important project (or its feasibility study report);

- Having formulated at least 2 group-A projects (or their feasibility study reports);

- Having verified or appraised at least 1 national important project;

- Having verified or appraised at least 2 group-A projects;

- Having managed at least 1 national important project;

- Having managed at least 2 group-A projects-

d/ Having been trained in investment project evaluation and possessing a training certificate granted by a lawful Vietnamese or foreign investment project evaluation training institution.

4. Scope of operation:

a/ Class-2 consultants may provide investment evaluation consultancy for group-B and group-C projects;

b/ Class-1 consultants may provide investment evaluation consultancy for national important projects and projects of groups A. Band C.

Article 5. Capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy managers

1. Investment project evaluation consultancy managers shall he classified into class 1 and class 2

2. Capacity of a class-2 investment project evaluation consultancy manager:

a/ Meeting the conditions on a class-2 investment project evaluation consultancy individual specified in Clause 2. Article 4 of this Circular;

b/ Meeting one of the following conditions:

- The conditions on a class-1 investment project evaluation consultancy individual specified in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular:

- Having provided evaluation consultancy for at least 5 group-B projects;

- Having provided evaluation consultancy for at least 10 projects;

- Having managed the formulation of at least 5 group-B projects (or their feasibility study reports);

- Having managed the formulation of at least 10 projects (or their feasibility study reports);

- Having managed the verification or appraisal of at least 5 group-B projects;

- Having managed the verification or appraisal of at least 10 projects;

- At least 5 years acting as head of a project management unit.

3. Capacity of a class-1 investment project evaluation consultancy manager:

a/ Meeting the conditions on a class-1 investment project evaluation consultancy individual specified in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular;

b/ Meeting one of the following conditions:

- Having provided evaluation consultancy for at least 2 national important projects;

- Having provided evaluation consultancy for at least 3 group-A projects;

- Having managed evaluation consultancy for at least 5 group-B projects;

- Having managed the formulation of at least 1 national important project (or its feasibility study report);

- Having managed the formulation of at least 2 group-A projects (or their feasibility study reports);

- Having managed the verification or appraisal of at least 1 national important project;

- Having managed the verification or appraisal of at least 2 group-A projects;

- At least 10 years acting as head of the project management unit of a group-B project.

4. Scope of operation:

a/ Class-2 managers may manage investment evaluation consultancy for group-B and group-C projects;

b/ Class-1 managers may manage investment evaluation consultancy for national important projects and projects of groups A, B and C.

Article 6. Capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations

1. Investment project evaluation consultancy organizations shall be classified into 2 classes below:

a/ Class-2 organization: Having at least 5 persons capable of providing investment project evaluation consultancy, one of whom having managed evaluation consultancy for 1 group-B project or 2 group-C projects.

b/ Class-1 organization: Having at least 5 persons capable as class-1 investment project evaluation consultancy individuals, one of whom having managed evaluation consultancy for 1 or more group-A project.

2. Scope of operation of an investment project evaluation consultancy organization:

a/ A class-2 organization may provide evaluation consultancy for group-B and group-C projects;

b/ A class-1 organization may provide evaluation consultancy for national important projects and projects of groups A, B and C.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN INVESTMENT PROJECT EVALUATION

Article 7. Conditions on an investment project evaluation training institution

1. Having the legal entity status and appropriate operation functions as provided for by law.

2. Having at least 5 investment project evaluation trainers meeting the requirements set in this Circular.

3. Having teaching materials meeting the requirements set in this Circular.

Article 8. Investment project evaluation trainers and training institutions

1. Investment project evaluation trainers:

An independent individual or the organization that employs a person who wishes to act as an investment project evaluation trainer shall send a registration request and dossier of his/her/its capacity, made according to a set form, to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consideration and inclusion in the list of investment project evaluation trainers.

An investment project evaluation trainer must fully satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Possessing university or higher degree:

b/ Having worked for at least 8 years in one of the following fields; investment project evaluation consultancy; formulation, appraisal and verification of investment projects; state management of investment; and elaboration of legal documents and documents guiding the formulation, appraisal, evaluation and management of investment projects;

c/ Being on the list of investment project evaluation trainers managed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

2. Investment project evaluation training institutions:

a/ An investment project evaluation training institution shall send a registration dossier to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consideration and inclusion in the system of training institutions and issuance of a decision recognizing the investment project evaluation training institution.

A registration dossier comprises:

- A certified true copy of the business registration certificate or establishment decision;

- A declaration of the training institution s capacity (physical foundations, personnel, documents related to the training management process);

-A training institution registration request and a slip of information for training institution registration, made according to a set form.

b/ Time limit for issuance of a decision recognizing an investment project evaluation training institution:

- Within 3 working days after receiving a registration dossier, the dossier-receiving agency shall examine its validity. If the dossier is invalid, this agency shall notify such in writing to the registering institution.

- Within 15 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall recognize an investment project evaluation training institution.

Article 9. Professional training programs on investment project evaluation

1. Programs:

The contents of such a program comply with the framework program specified in this Circular.

The duration of a training course is 3 days, equivalent to 24 training periods.

2. Teaching materials of a training course:

A training course s teaching materials include course books compiled as books, documents compiled as slides, and other relevant documents.

Teaching materials must indicate names of investment project evaluation training institutions.

Two sets of tests of professional training programs on investment project evaluation.

Course books and documents shall be compiled by training institutions based on the framework program provided in the Appendix to this Circular (not printed herein).

Article 10. Organization of professional training in investment project evaluation

1. An investment project evaluation training institution shall organize professional training in investment project evaluation as follows:

a/ Announcing enrollment information, indicating fields of training, requirements on trainees, programs and contents of the training course, time, place, funds and other necessary information;

b/ Notifying, at least 10 days before a training course, the organizing plan (time, place, duration and trainers) to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the provincial-level Planning and Investment Department of the locality in which the training course will be organized, for monitoring and examination when necessary. Promptly notifying any change in this plan to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and provincial-level Planning and Investment Department;

c/ Issuing a decision to organize the training course, indicating contents of the training program, trainers, time, place and other necessary information;

d/ Announcing regulations of the training course and providing trainees with sufficient documents before the training course;

e/ Organizing the training course according to the framework program and duration specified in this Circular. Monitoring trainees attendance to the training course;

f/ Organizing tests for the award of certificates to trainees;

g/ Sending the certificate award decision and list of certificate awardees and reporting on the implementation of the changed plan (if any) to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the provincial-level Planning and Investment Department of the locality in which the training course is organized within 7 working days after the training course.

2. Training courses on investment project evaluation with training certificates must be organized in a concentrated manner, ensuring sufficient duration and contents specified in the framework program.

Article 11. Assessment of training results and award of investment project evaluation certificates

1. A trainee may be awarded an investment project evaluation training certificate when fully meeting the following conditions:

a/ Attending at least 90% of the training periods. If unable to complete a training course for a plausible reason, the trainee may reserve the attendance time for 3 months at most counting from the starting date of the attended training course, and continue learning at another training course of the same training institution:

b/ Doing a final exam with results evaluated as satisfactory at least.

2. Final exams:

a/ An exam may be in the form of multiple-choice test or multiple-choice test combined with case study questions:

b/ An exam must last at least 45 minutes;

c/ Classification of exam papers for the award of certificates:

Exam papers with 90% or more of total marks shall be classified as distinct.

Exam papers with between 80% and 89% of total marks shall be classifiedas good.

Exam papers with between 70% and 79% of total marks shall be classifiedas relatively good.

Exam papers with between 50% and 69% of total marks shall be classifiedas satisfactory.

Exam papers with 49% or less of total marks shall be classifiedas unsatisfactory.

3. The head of an investment project evaluation training institution shall award investment project evaluation certificates to trainees with satisfactory or higher exam results.

4. An investment project evaluation training institution shall print and manage investment project evaluation certificates. The contents and format of a certificate comply with the form provided in this Circular (not printed herein).

5. An investment project evaluation certificate is valid for 5 years from the date of its award.

Article 12. Re-issuance of in vestment project evaluation certificates

1. An individual possessing a certificate may request an investment project evaluation training institution to re-issue it in case the old one remains valid but is torn, damaged or lost.

2. An individual requesting re-issuance of a certificate shall make an application stuck with a photo and enclosed with a certified true copy of his/her identity card. The investment project evaluation training institution that has awarded that certificate shall base itself on the original dossier to re-issue a certificate. The contents of a re-issued certificate are the same as the old one.

Article 13. Preservation of dossiers

An investment project evaluation training institution shall preserve dossiers of each training course for at least 7 years from the last date of the training course for examination by competent state agencies and re-issuance of certificates to trainees under this Circular. These dossiers include:

1. Lists of and information on trainees; lists of certificate awardees together with exam results certified by the training institution; trainee dossiers (containing full names, dates of birth, serial numbers of identity cards or passports, occupations, and contact addresses).

2. Lists of trainers (containing full names; dates of birth, serial numbers of identity cards or passports, occupations, addresses of workplaces; and dossiers of their professional capacity and qualifications).

3. Course books, documents, question slips, and exam papers done by trainees.

Article 14. Reporting on. management and examination of investment project evaluation training

1. Before January .15 every year, an investment project evaluation training institution shall report on the previous year s investment project evaluation training to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for summarization, and concurrently to the provincial-level Planning and Investment Department (of the locality in which the training institution is based and the training course is organized) for monitoring. Such a report shall be made according to the form provided in the Appendix to this Circular (not printed herein).

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall uniformly manage investment project evaluation training: examine, or coordinate with provincial-level Planning and Investment Departments and concerned ministries and sectors in examining investment project evaluation training, and handle according to its competence violations committed by investment project evaluation training institutions.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, other central and local agencies, and People s Committees at all levels shall direct the examination of investment project evaluation training provided by units under their management. Provincial-level Planning and Investment Departments shall assist provincial-level People s Committees in examining investment project evaluation training provided by investment project evaluation training institutions registered and based in their localities.

4. Examining agencies and units shall handle violations or propose competent persons or authorities to handle under law violations committed by investment project evaluation training institutions.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 15. Responsibilities of investors

1. Based on the scale and characteristics of specific jobs, to select organizations and individuals providing investment project evaluation consultancy.

2. To select qualified organizations and individuals for providing investment project evaluation consultancy under Decree No. 113/ CP and this Circular and take responsibility before law in case they select unqualified organizations or individuals, failing to ensure the quality of jobs performed or causing human and property losses due to incidents.

3. To conduct regular inspection and supervision, suspend or stop jobs until organizations or individuals fully satisfy capacity conditions under signed contracts. Decree No.113/CP and this Circular.

4. To have other responsibilities provided by law.

Article 16. Responsibilities of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals

1. To provide investment project evaluation consultancy only when fully satisfying the prescribed capacity conditions.

2. To comply with regulations and standards on investment project evaluation, ensuring quality and effectiveness: to conduct self-supervision for ensuring product quality and conduct takeover test under current regulations.

3. To take responsibility before investors and law when providing investment project evaluation consultancy without satisfying the prescribed capacity conditions.

4. To have other responsibilities provided by law.

Article 17. Responsibilities of concerned agencies

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

a/ Guide and examine the implementation of this Circular;

b/ Examine and handle according to its competence, or request the handling of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals nationwide that violate regulations on capacity conditions.

2. Ministries, sectors and provincial-level People s Committees shall:

a/ Guide and examine the implementation of this Circular by organizations and individuals under their management;

b/ Provincial-level People s Committees shall direct relevant functional agencies in examining and handling investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals in localities that violate regulations on capacity conditions.

3. Provincial-level Planning and Investment Departments shall:

a/ Examine capacity conditions of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals in localities under Decree No. 113/ CP and this Circular;

b/ Suspend or stop operation of investment project evaluation consultancy organizations which violate Decree No. 113/CP and this Circular.

Article 18. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on January 26, 2011.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies; provincial-level People s Committees; investment project evaluation consultancy organizations and individuals and concerned organizations and individuals shall implement this Circular Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, other central agencies, People s Committees at all levels and concerned organizations and individuals should report any problems arising in the course of implementation to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for timely consideration and settlement.-