Decree 17/2025/ND-CP amend Decrees detailing Bidding Law

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decrees detailing a number of articles and measures for implementation of the Bidding Law

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Bidding Law dated June 23, 2023;

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Planning Law, Law on Investment, Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership and Bidding Law dated November 29, 2024;

At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment;

The Government hereby promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decrees detailing a number of articles and measures for implementation of the Bidding Law.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing Article 1 of the Government’s Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP dated February 27, 2024, detailing a number of articles and measures for implementation of the Bidding Law regarding selection of investors, to implement projects subject to organization of bidding in accordance with specialized laws

To add Clause 3a after Clause 3 Article 1 as follows:

“3a. Selection of investors in special cases shall comply with corresponding provisions of the Government’s Decree detailing a number of articles of and measures to implement the Bidding Law regarding selection of investors to implement land-using investment projects.”.

Article 2. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP dated February 27, 2024, detailing a number of articles of and measures to implement the Bidding Law regarding contractor selection

1. To amend and supplement Point g Clause 1 Article 1 as follow:

“g) Clause 2 Article 29 on selection of investors in special cases;”.

2. To add Article 2a after Article 2 as follows:

“Article 2a. Order and procedures for implementing Clause 5 Article 3 of the Bidding Law

Before signing in a treaty or foreign loan agreement with different provisions on bidding or with those not yet provided in the Bidding Law, the Government shall decide on applying provisions on bidding according to the following order and procedures:

1. Before negotiation, the managing agency shall send to the agency in charge of negotiation a written request for applying provisions that differ from or are not covered by the Bidding Law. A written request must specify:

a) Regulations of the donor or international organization that are different from or not yet stipulated in the Bidding Law;

b) The necessity and impact assessment of applying the provisions specified at Point a of this Clause.

2. The agency in charge of negotiation shall seek opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and other relevant agencies regarding the proposal to apply provisions that differ from or are not covered by the Bidding Law, along with the content of the treaty or foreign loan agreement. Consulted agencies shall send their written opinions to the agency in charge of negotiation within 5 working days after receiving the written request for opinion and related documents.

3. Before signing a treaty or foreign loan agreement, the agency in charge of negotiation shall submit to the Government for consideration and decision on applying regulations provided by the donor or international organization to which the State, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.”.

3. To add Clause 12 after Clause 11 Article 12 as follows:

“12. The contractor shall pay expenses specified in Clause 11 of this Article. Past the payment deadline, if the contractor fails to make the payment, is/his/her account shall be temporarily suspended, preventing the contractor from carrying out any related transactions on Vietnam National E-Procurement System until fulfillment of the payment obligations as required.”.

4. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 16 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point b Clause 2 as follows:

“b) Tasks and scope of work, quantity of experts, time for performance, capacity and experience of consultants, expert salaries as specified by law (if any) and other factors.

Line ministry in charge of labor shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies in, issuing regulations on salary levels for domestic consultants, which will serve as a basis for determining the the bidding package price as stipulated at this Point;”;

b) To amend and supplement Point dd Clause 2 as follows:

“dd) Valuation results of the valuation council or of an organization with the function of providing valuation services as prescribed by law (if any);”;

c) To amend and supplement Point a Clause 4 as follows:

“a) The state budget estimate approved by the competent authority according to the budget period, or the estimated state budget allocations for the current fiscal year or for subsequent fiscal years in cases of procurement for the following year or for multi-year procurement; the estimated lawful financial resources available within the fiscal year or for subsequent years in cases of procurement for the following year or for multi-year procurement;”;

d) To add Clause 7 after Clause 6 as follows:

“7. For cost estimates approved under Point d Clause 3 Article 23, Point c Clause 8 Article 39 of the Bidding Law and Clause 2 Article 131 of this Decree, if the sectoral or field-specific management law prescribes the preparation of, and competence to approve, cost estimates, then the preparation and approval of cost estimates shall comply with such laws. If the sectoral or field-specific management law does not provide specific regulations, the project owner or the agency or unit authorized by the competent person to approve the cost estimate shall approve the cost estimate.”.

5. To add Points dd, e, g and h after Point d Clause 1 of Article 18 as follows:

“dd) Contractors withdraw bid dossiers or dossiers of requirements after the time of bid closing and when the bid dossiers and dossier of proposals remain valid;

e) Contractors fail to submit the original bid security documents as required by the project owner, bid solicitor, or fail to provide cash, certified check, bid guarantee letter, or a guarantee insurance certificate in accordance with the bidding law;

g) Contractors fail to take contract performance security;

h) Contractors refuse or fail to confirm acceptance of the contract award within a maximum of 3 working days from the date the bid solicitor invites the contractor to confirm the contract award acceptance on Vietnam National E-Procurement System for simplified online quotation.”.

6. To amend and supplement Clause 1 Article 20 as follows:

“1. Information about investor selection shall be disclosed on Vietnam National E-Procurement System. Project owners shall disclose information about violating contractors, contractors failing to maintain credibility during bidding, contractors whose contracts have been terminated due to their fault, and contractors banned from participating in bidding activities in accordance with the bidding law on Vietnam National E-Procurement System. In cases where such information requires modifications, project owners shall make the necessary modifications, attach the modification decision, clearly state the reason for modification, and bear full responsibility for the accuracy of the revised information.”.

7. To add a number of clauses of Article 22 as follows:

a) To add Clause 3a after Clause 3 as follows:

“3a. Contract negotiation (if any) shall apply to bidding packages for goods procurement, construction and installation, non-consultancy for which international bidding is organized, mixed bidding packages and bidding packages subject to restricted bidding specified in Clause 1 Article 22 of the Bidding Law.”;

b) To add Clause 6 after Clause 5 as follows:

“6. Activities of bidding in advance specified in Article 42 of the Bidding Law shall comply with the order and procedures prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 3a and 4 of this Article. The finalization, conclusion and management the performance of contracts specified in Clause 5 of this Article shall only be performed after the projects are approved for investment.”.

8. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 24 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 as follows:

“b) The approved contractor selection plan.

The draft bidding dossier shall be prepared after the contractor selection plan is approved, or may be prepared in the course of making the contractor selection plan, provided that it is approved after the approval of the contractor selection plan;”;

b) To amend and supplement Point d Clause 3 as follows:

“d) There is a bid security of which the value, validity duration and beneficiary satisfy requirements in the bidding dossier. In the case where it is required to make a bid security by submitting a letter of guarantee or certificate of guarantee insurance, such letter or certificate must not be in the following cases: its value is lower than the amount specified in the bidding dossier, its validity duration is shorter than the duration required in the bidding dossier, the name of the beneficiary is incorrect, it is not duly signed or it is signed before the bidding dossier is issued, it contains disadvantageous conditions for the project owner or the bid solicitor. The letter of guarantee or certificate of guarantee insurance must be signed and sealed (if any) by the lawful representative of a domestic credit institution or a foreign bank branch established under Vietnam’s law, or a domestic non-life insurance enterprise or foreign non-life insurance enterprise’s branch established under Vietnam’s law. For an insurance bidding package, the contractors are not allowed to submit certificates of guarantee insurance issued by themselves. For advance bidding packages specified in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, contractors are not required to take bid security; however, they must include a commitment in the bid application form regarding their responsibility to participate in the bidding process;”.

9. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 30 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point b Clause 4 as follows:

“b) Contractors that meet technical requirements shall be evaluated financially using either the lowest bid price method or the evaluated price method. The contractor whose bid after error correction or deviation adjustment (if any) minus the value of discounts (if any) and determination of incentives (if any) is the lowest (in case of application of the lowest price method) or who has the lowest evaluated price (in case of application of the evaluated price method) shall be ranked first. The discount offer letter that is not disclosed in the bid opening record shall not be considered for evaluation.

If only one contractor meets the technical requirements, ranking of contractors is not required. The project owner is not required to approve the contractor ranking list.”;

b) To amend and supplement Clause 5 and Clause 6 as follows:

“5. The expert team shall make a report on bid dossier evaluation and send it to the bid solicitor for consideration. Such a report must include the following contents:

a) Result of evaluation of each bid dossier;

b) List of ranked contractors and their rankings;

c) List of disqualified and eliminated contractors; reasons for elimination;

d) Remarks of the competitiveness, fairness, transparency and economic efficiency during the contractor selection. If competitiveness, fairness, transparency and economic efficiency cannot be ensured, the report must clearly state the reasons and propose handling measures;

dd) The bidding dossier’s contents incompliant with the bidding law, or they might cause misunderstanding or different ways of understanding during implementation or might distort the contractor selection result (if any); and handling measures.

For bidding packages for goods procurement, construction and installation, non-consultancy for which international bidding is organized, mixed bidding packages and bidding packages subject to restricted bidding specified in Clause 1 Article 22 of the Bidding Law, in case of contract negotiation, the bid solicitor shall invite the first-ranked contractor to negotiate the contract in accordance with Article 43 of this Decree.

6. Based on the report on bid dossier evaluation result and negotiation contract result (if any), the bid solicitor shall prepare a submission for approval of the contractor selection result and submit it to the project owner for approval in accordance with Article 31 of this Decree. A submission for approval of the contractor selection result must contain the following details:

a) Result of evaluation of each bid dossier;

b) List of ranked contractors and their rankings;

c) Contract negotiation result (if any);

d) List of disqualified and eliminated contractors; reasons for elimination;

dd) Name of the proposed bid-winning contractor, the proposed winning bid, the type of contract, the execution duration of the bidding package, and the contract performance duration;

e) Remarks of the competitiveness, fairness, transparency and economic efficiency during the contractor selection. If competitiveness, fairness, transparency and economic efficiency cannot be ensured, the submission must clearly state the reasons and propose handling measures;

g) The bidding dossier’s contents incompliant with the bidding law, which might cause misunderstanding or different ways of understanding during implementation or which might distort the contractor selection result (if any); and handling measures;

h) Matters of concern (if any).”.

10. To add Clause 8 after Clause 7 Article 34 as follows:

“8. Activities of bidding in advance specified in Article 42 of the Bidding Law shall comply with the order and procedures prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article. The finalization, conclusion and management the performance of contracts specified in Clause 7 of this Article shall only be performed after the projects are approved for investment.”.

11. To amend and supplement Point b Clause 3 Article 42 as follows:

“b) The expert team shall make a report on bid dossier evaluation and send it to the bid solicitor for consideration in accordance with Clause 5 Article 30 of this Decree. The project owner is not required to approve the contractor ranking list. In case of contract negotiation, the bid solicitor shall invite the first-ranked contractor to negotiate the contract in accordance with Article 43 of this Decree.”.

12. To amend and supplement Clause 6 Article 43 as follows:

“6. Based on the report on bid dossier evaluation result and negotiation contract result (if any), the bid solicitor shall prepare a submission for approval of the contractor selection result in accordance with Clause 6 Article 30 of this Decree.”.

13. To add Clause 8 after Clause 7 Article 59 as follows:

“8. Activities of bidding in advance specified in Article 42 of the Bidding Law shall comply with the order and procedures prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article. The finalization, conclusion and management the performance of contracts specified in Clause 7 of this Article shall only be performed after the projects are approved for investment.”.

14. To amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 Article 61 as follows:

“b) The approved contractor selection plan.

The draft bidding dossier shall be prepared after the contractor selection plan is approved, or may be prepared in the course of making the contractor selection plan, provided that it is approved after the approval of the contractor selection plan;”.

15. To amend and supplement Points a and c Clause 2 Article 76 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point a as follows:

“a) Making of dossiers of requirements:

A dossier of requirements must comprise: brief information on the project, procurement estimate, or bidding package; instructions on preparation and submission of the dossier of proposals; criteria for capacity and experience evaluation; technical evaluation criteria; determination of the contractor appointment price; contract conditions.

The pass and fail criteria shall be used for evaluating capacity and experience of contractors and for technical evaluation of construction and installation, non-consultancy and mixed bidding packages; the scoring method shall be used to technically evaluate the consultancy bidding packages. A dossier of requirements shall clearly specify the model code, brand name, origin of the goods, as well as technical requirements and related services (if applicable).

b) To amend and supplement Point c as follows:

“c) Identifying contractors expected to be invited to receive dossiers of requirements:

Depending on the size and characteristics of the bidding package and preliminary information about the contractors capable of implementing the bidding package, the project owner shall identify one contractor expected to be invited to receive the dossier of requirements; and may not evaluate the capacity and experience of the contractor expected to be invited to receive the dossier of requirements when identifying such contractor.

A contractor may be expected to be appointed and receive the dossier of requirements when he/she/it is eligible in accordance with Points a, b, c, d, e, g and i Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For household business contractors, they must meet the eligibility requirements specified at Points a and b Clause 2 and Points d and e Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For goods procurement bidding packages, individual contractors or groups of individual contractors offering their own innovative products for bidding shall be expected to be appointed and receive the dossiers of requirements if they meet the eligibility requirements specified in Clause 3 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. If the contractors participating in the bidding, performing the contract must be independent from other organizations or individuals as prescribed by relevant laws, such laws shall prevail.”.

16. To amend and supplement Points a and c Clause 2 Article 77 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point a as follows:

“a) Making of dossiers of requirements:

A dossier of requirements must comprise: brief information on the project, procurement estimate, or bidding package; instructions on preparation and submission of the dossier of proposals; criteria for capacity and experience evaluation; technical evaluation criteria; determination of the lowest bid; contract conditions.

The pass and fail criteria shall be used for evaluating capacity and experience of contractors and for technical evaluation of construction and installation, non-consultancy and mixed bidding packages; the scoring method shall be used to technically evaluate the consultancy bidding packages. A dossier of requirements shall clearly specify the model code, brand name, origin of the goods, as well as technical requirements and related services (if applicable).

b) To amend and supplement Point c as follows:

“c) Identifying the list of contractors expected to be invited to receive dossiers of requirements:

Depending on the size and characteristics of the bidding package and preliminary information about the contractors capable of implementing the bidding package, the project owner shall identify at least 3 contractors expected to be invited to receive the dossier of requirements; and may not evaluate the capacity and experience of the contractor expected to be invited to receive the dossier of requirements when identifying such contractors.

An expected contractor shall be invited to receive the dossier of requirements when he/she/it is eligible in accordance with Points a, b, c, d, e, g and i Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For household business contractors, they must meet the eligibility requirements specified at Points a and b Clause 2 and Points d and e Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For goods procurement bidding packages, individual contractors or groups of individual contractors offering their own innovative products for bidding shall be expected to be invited to receive the dossiers of requirements if they meet the eligibility requirements specified in Clause 3 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. If the contractors participating in the bidding, performing the contract must be independent from other organizations or individuals as prescribed by relevant laws, such laws shall prevail.”.

17. To amend and supplement the first paragraph of Clause 3 Article 78 as follows:

“3. The contractor appointment for bidding packages within the contractor appointment threshold specified at Point m Clause 1 Article 23 of the Bidding Law must be approved in the contractor selection plan and shall be carried out according to the simplified contractor appointment procedures. A contractor shall be proposed for contractor appointment when he/she/it is eligible in accordance with Points a, b, c, d, e, g and i Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For household business contractors, they must meet the eligibility requirements specified at Points a and b Clause 2 and Points d and e Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For goods procurement bidding packages, individual contractors or groups of individual contractors offering their own innovative products for bidding shall be proposed for contractor appointment if they meet the eligibility requirements specified in Clause 3 Article 5 of the Bidding Law. If the contractors participating in the bidding, performing the contract must be independent from other organizations or individuals as prescribed by relevant laws, such laws shall prevail. The simplified contractor appointment procedures are as follows:”.

18. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 79 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 as follows:

“b) Approval of bidding dossiers:

Bidding dossiers shall be approved on the basis of reports for approval without appraisal.”;

b) To amend and supplement Point dd Clause 3 as follows:

“dd) The contractor ranking shall follow provisions of the bidding dossiers (in case of more than one contractor). The contractor whose bid after error correction or deviation adjustment (if any) minus the value of discounts (if any) and determination of incentives (if any) is the lowest (in case of application of the lowest price method) or who has the lowest evaluated price (in case of application of the evaluated price method) shall be ranked first.”;

c) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. Submission, approval and publicization of contractor selection results:

The submission, approval and publicization of the contractor selection result must comply with Article 31 of this Decree; appraisal of contractor selection results is not required.”.

19. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 80 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point b Clause 2 as follows:

“b) Approval of dossiers of requirements:

Dossiers of requirements shall be approved on the basis of reports for approval without appraisal.”;

b)To amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

“6. Submission, approval and publicization of direct procurement results:

The submission, approval and publicization of the direct procurement results must comply with Article 31 of this Decree; appraisal of direct procurement results is not required.”.

20. To amend and supplement Article 82 as follows:

“Article 82. Cases and competence to decide on applying contractor selection in special cases

1. Bidding packages for performance of national political tasks directed in Resolutions, Conclusions and official directives issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and key leaders of the Party and State, for the implementation of a project or bidding package, where applying any of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would render the implementation infeasible as required.

2. Packages subject to strict requirements on national defense and security, external affairs and territorial borders, where the contractor selection forms specified in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law cannot be applied.

3. Bidding packages belong to the project/procurement estimates with one ore more than one specific condition regarding contractor selection process, procedures and criteria, and conditions on contract conclusion and execution, including:

a) Bidding packages for procurement of medicines or vaccines under trials with the manufacturers’ specific requirements on procurement, payment, guarantee, security and other conditions during the contract performance;

b) Bidding packages for procurement of medicines, vaccines and medical equipment through international organizations;

c) Bidding packages for procurement of domestically produced vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Program, where there is only one domestic manufacturer;

d) Selection of lawyers or law firms for provision of legal services to protect lawful rights and interests of the Vietnamese State and state agencies before investigative bodies applying foreign trade defense measures, jurisdictional bodies, and dispute resolution bodies at the domestic, foreign, or international level;

dd) Bidding packages for provision of intensive training for state agencies and public non-business units that are directly organized by foreign training institutions overseas; procurement of airfares for domestic and international working delegations; bidding packages for provision of professional training and further training in specific areas for cadres, civil servants, public employees and employees which are necessary to invite agencies or units that are competent or have professional training functions and tasks assigned by competent agencies;

e) Bidding packages for performance of political tasks assigned by the Party or the State, including dissemination of information on printed newspapers, online newspapers, radio and television, and other mass media in case the agency or unit allocated with funding sources to carry out the dissemination directly concludes contracts with such agency for implementation; coordination in film production and film production; bidding packages of public non-business units under the Central Party agencies and Governmental agencies for purchasing information from foreign news agencies and press organizations, as well as printing press publications to propagate the Party's and the State's policies and guidelines;

g) Bidding packages for production of programs combined with creative ideas thereon; and organization of artistic performances serving political tasks;

h) Bidding packages for provision of printing services, stamps, receipts and seals in accordance with the laws on tax administration and customs; bidding packages for procurement police dogs, provision of training of police dogs, and procurement of narcotics, explosives, narcotics or explosive scent pads used for police dog training;

i) Bidding packages for asset valuation and price appraisal consultancy services related to urgent cases or criminal proceedings, as required by competent procedural bodies;

k) Bidding packages for provision of services relating to organize conferences, seminars, congresses, and training programs, including accommodation, catering, transportation for delegates, equipment, hall and meeting room rental and related services, where centralized accommodation is required, and urgent implementation is necessary;

l) Bidding packages serving diplomatic activities, including hosting international delegations visiting and working in Vietnam in accordance with the law on diplomatic protocols;
procurement of diplomatic gifts for Party and State leaders, Ministers, and heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies traveling abroad or hosting international delegations visiting and working in Vietnam;

m) Bidding packages for procurement of services from international credit rating agencies; procurement of international payment services (including associated equipment) exclusively provided by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT); procurement of services from international financial and monetary information providers and trading platforms;

n) Bidding packages for supplying school meals or procuring food, ingredients and input fuel necessary for the preparation of school meals for semi-boarding and boarding students at public educational institutions;

o) Bidding packages for procurement of goods and services supplied by a single manufacturer or provider; bidding packages for procurement of goods and services with government-regulated pricing, including electricity, water, fuel, environmental sanitation fees, fixed-line telephone charges, maintenance of telephone switchboards, and other similar essential services;

p) Bidding packages within projects or procurement estimates requiring urgent execution, as directed in the Government’s Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, or notices of the Government leaders, where applying any of the contractor selection forms under Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not ensure timely completion;

q) Bidding packages within projects requiring immediate implementation to ensure connectivity and synchronization among project components, as directed in the Government’s Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, or notices of the Government leaders, where applying any of the contractor selection forms under Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not ensure effective management, exploitation and operation of the work in a synchronous and continuous manner;

r) Consultancy bidding packages for appraisal of prefeasibility study reports or feasibility study reports for projects of which the investment policy is approved or decided by the National Assembly;

s) Bidding packages within projects or procurement estimates that have specific conditions regarding procedures, selection criteria, contract signing, and execution, which do not fall under any of the cases specified at Points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, and r of this Clause.

4. Competence to decide on applying contractor selection in special cases:

a) Ministries, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and other central agencies (hereinafter referred to as heads of central agencies), Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide and take responsibility for applying contractor selection in special cases for bidding packages of the project or procurement estimates specified in Clauses 1, 2 and Point s Clause 3 of this Article;

b) The Minister of Health shall decide and take responsibility for applying contractor selection in special cases specified at Points a, b and c Clause 3 of this Article;

c) The Chairperson of the State appraisal council shall decide and take responsibility for applying contractor selection in special cases specified at Point r Clause 3 of this Article;

d) Competent persons of the procurement estimates/projects shall decide and take responsibility for applying contractor selection in special cases specified at Points d, dd, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p and q Clause 3 of this Article.”.

21. To amend and supplement Article 83 as follows:

“Article 83. Order and procedures for selection of investors in special cases

1. For bidding packages specified in Clauses 1, 2 and Point s Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) Based on the application dossier for contractor selection in special cases proposed by an agency or unit, the head of central agency or Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall assign another agency or unit to conduct appraisal;

b) Such a dossier must comprise: A written request, draft decision of the head of the central agency or Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee, and relevant documents and files. A written request regarding contractor selection in special cases must specify basic information about the procurement estimate or project, bidding package (project name, procurement estimate or project; funding sources, total investment amount of the project, procurement estimate value, bidding package price; estimated implementation timeline; other necessary information); for bidding packages specified in Clause 1 Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity and reason why applying any of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law is not feasible according to Resolutions, Conclusions, and directives issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and key leaders of the Party and State; for bidding packages specified in Clause 2 Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity and conditions for ensuring one or several factor(s) relating to national defense, security, foreign affairs, and territorial integrity, and the reasons why applying any of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law is not feasible; for bidding packages specified at Point s Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity and specific conditions for one or several content(s) related to order, procedures, selection criteria, contract signing, and contract execution, and the reasons why applying any of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law is not feasible; draft plan for contractor selection, which must specify at least order and procedures for contractor selection, and other relevant details necessary to meet the specific conditions of the bidding package within the project or procurement estimate, ensuring the selection of a contractor with adequate capacity, experience, and feasible and effective implementation solutions. A draft decision of the head of the central agency or Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee must include contents under Point dd of this Clause;

c) During the appraisal process, the ministry, ministerial-level agency, government-attached agency, other central agency or provincial-level People’s Committee shall send a dossier for collecting opinions from relevant ministries and agencies about contents within their state management (if necessary) for bidding packages specified in Clause 1 and Point s Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree; opinions on the necessity and conditions for ensuring one or several factor(s) relating to national defense, security, foreign affairs, and territorial integrity from one or more than one of the following ministries shall be collected: the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to each sector within the management; and opinions from relevant agencies (if necessary) shall also be collected, for bidding packages specified in Clause 2 Article 82 of this Decree;

d) Based on opinions from agencies specified at Point c of this Clause, an agency or unit assigned the task of appraisal shall prepare an appraisal report, which includes assessment of the necessity and reason for applying contractor selection in special cases; opinions on the contractor selection plan under special cases, and draft decision of the head of the central agency or the Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee, in case approval is recommended; recommendation for approval or disapproval by the head of the central agency or the Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee regarding the application of contractor selection in special cases;

dd) Based on the dossier of proposals and appraisal report, the head of the central agency or the Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee shall consider and decide on approval or disapproval for applying contractor selection in special cases. A decision of the head of the central agency or Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee must include the approval for application, and plan for contractor selection in special cases for bidding package of the project or procurement estimate; responsibility of the competent persons, project owner, bid solicitor and relevant agencies in the contractor selection process; other requirements during the implementation of the bidding package of the project or procurement estimate (if any).

2. For bidding packages specified at Points a and b Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The Minister of Health shall assign its affiliated agency or unit to prepare an application dossier for contractor selection in special cases, at the same time assign another agency or unit to organize the appraisal;

b) Such a dossier must comprise: a written request, draft decision of the Minister of Health, relevant documents and files. A written request regarding contractor selection in special cases must specify basic information about the procurement estimate or project, bidding package (project name, procurement estimate or project; funding sources, total investment amount of the project, procurement estimate value, bidding package price; estimated implementation timeline; other necessary information); explanation of the necessity and specific conditions for one or several content(s) specified in Clause 1 Article 29 of the Bidding Law, and the reasons why none of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law is applied; draft plan for contractor selection in special cases, including: order and procedures for contractor selection, and other relevant details necessary to meet the specific conditions of the bidding package within the project or procurement estimate, ensuring the selection of a contractor with adequate capacity, experience, and feasible and effective implementation solutions;

c) Based on the dossier of proposals and appraisal report, the Ministry of Health shall consider and decide on approval or disapproval for applying contractor selection in special cases.

In case where an international organization, drug, vaccine or medical equipment manufacturer provides specific regulations on conditions for purchase and conclusion of contracts (if any), advance payment or payment terms that are mandatory for the supply of drugs, vaccines, or medical equipment, such regulations shall prevail.

3. For bidding packages specified at Point c Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The Minister of Health shall assign its affiliated agency or unit to perform the project owner’s responsibility in placing order for vaccines;

b) The project owner shall, based on the Expanded Immunization Program, estimated quantity and types of vaccines to be procured, vaccine supply timeline (which may include vaccine procurement for more than one year); estimated unit price; bidding package price and other necessary details, prepare a written request for approval of the plan for contractor selection, and submit it to the Ministry of Health for appraisal and approval. In case of placing order of vaccines for many years, the estimated procurement value for each year must be determined. Such a dossier must comprise: a written request, draft decision on approval of contractor selection plan of the Minister of Health, relevant documents and files;

c) Based on the investor’s written request and appraisal report, the Minister of Health shall consider and decide on approval of contractor selection plan;

d) Based on the approved contractor selection plan, the project owner shall approve the decision on placing an order and sign a contract with the domestic vaccine manufacturer for production and supply of vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Program;

dd) Before December 31 of each year, vaccine manufacturers shall prepare a price plan dossier corresponding to the quantity supplied in the year for the Expanded Immunization Program, and submit it to the Ministry of Health for submission to the Ministry of Finance for appraisal, approval and notification of the maximum vaccine price;

e) Based on the maximum vaccine price notified by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health shall decide on approving the specific price, which must not exceed the maximum price. The annual contract payment price shall be based on the quantity of vaccine supplied and the specific price approved by the Ministry of Health.

4. For bidding packages specified at Point d Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The agency or unit in charge of handling the lawsuit shall develop selection criteria, terms of reference, and a control mechanism for law firms and lawyers to establish a list (of no fewer than three) of law firms and lawyers expected to be hired. Only reputable and highly experienced law firms and lawyers shall be included in the list;

b) The agency in charge of handling the lawsuit shall organize the contract negotiations for legal services with the most competitive law firm or lawyer, based on the selection criteria, terms of reference, and control mechanisms for law firms or lawyers in the lawsuit;

c) The head of agency or unit in charge of handling the lawsuit shall approve and announce the law firm or lawyer selection result;

d) The agency or unit in charge of handling the lawsuit shall finalize and conclude the legal service contract with the selected law firm or lawyer.

5. For bidding packages specified at Points dd, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n and o Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, except for Clause 6 of this Article:

a) Making, appraising and approving the contractor selection plan.

For bidding packages specified at Point l Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, within 10 days from the date of the commencement date of the bidding package, the project owner shall complete the procedures specified at this Point;

b) Conducting contract negotiation with the contractor determined to have sufficient capacity and experience;

c) Approving and publicly announcing the contractor selection result;

d) Finalizing and signing a contract with the contractor:

The contract must include sufficient information relating to the scope of work, content of tasks to be performed, implementation timeline, required quality standards, and contract value;

dd) Publication of information on the contractor selection plan, contractor selection results, and other bidding-related information shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of the Bidding Law.

For the cases specified at Point n Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, if the public educational institution is located in an area with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as defined by the investment law, the head of the public educational institution may independently decide on the supply of school meals or the procurement of food, ingredients, and fuel for school meal supply, ensuring cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability based on invoice and document mechanisms as prescribed by law, without being required to follow the procedures specified in this Clause.

For the cases specified at Point o Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, the project owner shall finalize and conclude the contract with the supplier in accordance with Point d of this Clause, without being required to follow the procedures stipulated at Points a, b, c, and dd of this Clause.

The competent person, project owner, and bid solicitor shall fulfill their responsibilities as stipulated in Articles 77, 78, and 79 of the Bidding Law.

6. For the bidding package for procurement of airfares for domestic and international working delegations specified at Point dd Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) For international working delegations, based on the approved work plan and flight itinerary, the agency or unit allocated funding and assigned the task of purchasing airfares must obtain at least two quotations from two different airline ticket agencies (or a quotation from one agency covering at least two different airlines, including Vietnam’s national airline) for the same flight itinerary to evaluate, compare, and select the ticket provider based on the following criteria: direct flight routes that align with the work schedule; the lowest total costs (including taxes, surcharges), travel allowances, and airport waiting costs. The head of the agency or unit assigned the funding and procurement responsibility shall sign the contract with the selected supplier, ensuring cost-effectiveness and efficiency, and shall bear responsibility for their decision. If a flight route change is required abroad due to work-related demands, the head of the agency or unit assigned the funding shall decide on the ticket purchase based on the request of the head of the delegation;

b) For domestic working delegations:

The head of the agency or unit assigned the funding and procurement responsibility shall sign the contract with the selected supplier, ensuring cost-effectiveness and efficiency, and shall bear responsibility for their decision;

The procurement of airfares for domestic and international working delegations, as stipulated at Points a and b of this Clause, does not require the preparation, appraisal, or approval of a contractor selection plan.

7. For bidding packages specified at Points p and q Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) Based on the application dossier for contractor selection in special cases proposed by the project owner, the competent person shall assign another agency or unit to conduct appraisal;

b) Such a dossier must comprise: a written request, draft decision of the competent person, relevant documents and files. A written request regarding contractor selection in special cases must specify basic information about the procurement estimate or project, bidding package (project name, procurement estimate or project; funding sources, total investment amount of the project, procurement estimate value, bidding package price; estimated implementation timeline; other necessary information); for bidding packages specified in Clause 2 Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity of the bidding package of the procurement estimate or project that requires urgent execution to ensure timely completion of the bidding package or project, as directed in the Government's Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, or notices of the Government leaders, and the reasons why applying any of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law will not ensure completion of progress; for bidding packages specified at Point q Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity of the bidding package of the procurement estimate or project that requires immediate execution to ensure connection and synchronization between the works under the project according to the direction in the Government's Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, and notices of the Government leaders, and the reasons why applying any of the contractor selection forms stipulated in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law will not ensure the effectiveness of management, exploitation and operation of the works in a synchronous and continuous manner; draft plan for contractor selection in special cases, which must specify at least the order and procedures for contractor selection, and other relevant details necessary to meet the specific conditions of the bidding package within the project or procurement estimate, ensuring the selection of a contractor with adequate capacity, experience, and feasible and effective implementation solutions. The competent person’s draft decision must include the information specified at Point d of this Clause;

c) During the appraisal process, the competent person shall send the dossier for collecting opinions from relevant ministries and agencies regarding contents under their state management (if necessary);

d) Based on the dossier of proposals and appraisal report, the competent person shall consider and decide on approval or disapproval for applying contractor selection in special cases. The competent person’s decision must specify the approval for application, and plan for contractor selection in special cases for bidding package of the project or procurement estimate; responsibility of the project owner, bid solicitor and relevant agencies in the contractor selection process; other requirements during the implementation of the bidding package of the project or procurement estimate (if any).

8. For bidding packages specified at Point r Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The interdisciplinary appraisal expert team shall identify a consultancy contractor for appraisal who possesses the required capacity and experience as prescribed by law to immediately provide consultancy and submit to the Chairperson of the State appraisal council for approval;

b) Within 15 days after the Chairperson of the State appraisal council's approval, the interdisciplinary appraisal expert team must complete the following procedures: Preparing and sending a draft contract to the consultancy contractor, clearly defining the scope and content of work to be performed, implementation timeline, required quality standards and the corresponding contract value for contract negotiation and finalization; conducting negotiations and finalizing the contract; submitting to the Chairperson of the State appraisal council for approval of the contractor selection results for the project appraisal consultancy, preparing for the contract signing with the selected appraisal consultant. The contract shall be signed by a representative of the State appraisal council, the project owner (which could be the investor or the agency assigned the task of project investment preparation), and the selected appraisal consultant.

9. For bidding packages specified in Clause 2, Points a, b and s Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, a written request for contractor selection in special cases must specify the reason for the inability to apply any of the contractor selection forms specified in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Bidding Law; for bidding packages specified in Clause 1 and Points p and q Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, a written request for contractor selection in special cases must specify the reason for the inability to meet the requirements when applying any of the contractor selection forms specified in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Bidding Law; for bidding packages specified at Points c, d, dd, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o and r Clause 3 Article 82 of this Decree, explanation for the inability to apply any of the contractor selection forms specified in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Bidding Law is not required.”.

22. To amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 88 as follows:

“2. For centralized procurement not belonging to investment projects of state enterprises or enterprises with 100% of charter capital held by state enterprises, the decision-maker or person assigned to decide on the procurement under Article 91 of this Decree of the superior authority of the centralized procurement unit shall fulfill responsibilities of the competent person s prescribed in Article 77 of the Bidding Law.”.

23. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 97 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The criteria for evaluation of a dossier of participation in prequalification, dossier of expression of interest, or bid dossier shall comply with Articles 23, 24, 35, 36, 60 and 61 of this Decree. A dossier of participation in prequalification, dossier of expression of interest, or bid dossier shall be evaluated valid if the contractor is not in a suspended or terminated status on the System.”;

b) To add Clause 5a after Clause 5 as follows:

“5a. The contract negotiation shall comply with Clause 3a Article 22, Clause 5 Article 30, Clause 5 Article 34, Article 43, Clause 5 Article 59 and Article 69 of this Decree.”.

24. To amend and supplement a number of points of Clause 3 Article 98 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Points a and b as follows:

a) Bidding packages for procurement of goods and provision of non-consultancy services with a price not exceeding VND 500 million for procurement estimates, except for Point d of this Clause;

b) Bidding packages for procurement of goods and provision of non-consultancy services with a price not exceeding VND 1 billion for projects;”;

b) To add Point d after Point c as follows:

“d) Bidding packages for procurement of goods consisting of many separate parts, (excluding medicines) for retail at retail establishments within the premises of public healthcare facilities, where each part corresponds to a single item with a procurement estimate value not exceeding VND 1 billion.

25. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 101 as follows:

a) To amend Point a Clause 1 as follows:

“Specific requirements on origin, marking, brand, manufacturer, technical specifications of goods, delivery time, warranty and other necessary contents (if any) for bidding packages for goods procurement; scope of work, technical requirements, execution duration, service completion timeline and other necessary contents (if any) for bidding packages for non-consultancy services. Deadlines for delivery and service completion must be reasonable and not restrictive, ensuring contractor participation in accordance with Point k Clause 6 Article 16 of the Bidding Law;”;

b) To amend Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Contractors shall directly participate in online quotation on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System to bid for the contents identified in the notification of invitation for bids and may make quotation within the time limit specified in the notification of invitation for bids. From the second quotation, the offered bid of the contractor must not be lower than 90% of the lowest displayed price on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System.”;

c) To add Point c after Point b Clause 5 as follows:

c) Based on the results of the online quotation on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System, the bid solicitor shall invite the first-ranked contractor to confirm acceptance of the contract award on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System. The invited contractor shall be responsible for confirming acceptance of the contract award. If the contractor declines or fails to confirm within a maximum of 3 working days from the date the bid solicitor inviting the contractor to confirm acceptance of the contract award on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System, the contractor's name will be publicly disclosed on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System, its/his/her account will be frozen for 6 months from the date the Ministry of Planning and Investment receives the project owner's request, and the contractor’s credibility in bidding participation will be negatively evaluated. The bid solicitor shall then invite the next-ranked contractor to confirm acceptance.”;

d) To amend Clause 6 as follows:

“6. Submission, approval and publicization of contractor selection results:

Based on the contractor’s confirmation of acceptance of the contract award, the submission, approval and publicization of the contractor selection result must comply with Article 31 of this Decree.”.

26. To amend Clause 1 Article 102 as follows:

“1. Online procurement must be approved in the contractor selection plan and applied to goods and services of bidding packages included in the procurement estimate, with a price not exceeding VND 300 million; bidding packages for procurement of goods and services under projects with a price not exceeding VND 1 billion.”.

27. To amend and supplement Clause 1 Article 126 as follows:

“1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall organize the appraisal of overall contractor selection plans and contractor selection plans subject to the Prime Minister’s approval.”.

28. To amend and supplement Point a Clause 2 Article 128 as follows:

a) Legal bases for making the contractor selection plan:

Examination of conformity and completeness of the legal bases for making the contractor selection plan and matters of concern (if any).

For bidding packages apply bidding in advance, the contractor selection plan shall be made before the signing of treaties, foreign loan agreements, for projects using ODA capital and concessional loans, or before the approval for investment of the project in accordance with Article 42 of the Bidding Law.”.

29. To amend and supplement Point a Clause 4 Article 130 as follows:

“a) A dossier submitted for appraisal or approval must comprise:

Bid solicitor’s proposal for approval of the contractor selection result, which must clearly state the bid solicitor’s opinions about suggestions and recommendations of the expert team;

Expert team’s report on evaluation results of bids and dossiers of proposals;

Contract negotiation record (if any);

Document comparison record (if any);

Copies of the bidding dossiers, dossiers of requirements, bid opening records, bid dossiers, dossiers of proposals of contractors and other relevant documents. In case the list of technically eligible contractors has been appraised, only the record of opening of dossiers of financial proposals and copies of dossiers of financial proposals of technically eligible contractors are required.”.

30. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 131 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point a Clause 5 as follows:

“a) Permitting the extension of the time of bid closing by at least 5 days in order to allow more contractors to submit dossiers of expression of interest, dossiers of participation in prequalification and bid dossiers;”;

b) To amend and supplement Points a, b and d Clause 22 as follows:

a) Imposing fines according to contract terms;

b) Confiscating the performance security value of all consortium members if the remaining work of the violating consortium members is separated into a new bidding package, as stipulated at Point dd of this Clause. If the remaining work of the violating consortium members is reassigned to other consortium members under Point d of this Clause, only the violating consortium member shall have their performance security confiscated;

d) The violating member’s work shall be reassigned to the remaining members if they have sufficient capacity and experience;”;

c) To amend and supplement Clause 24 as follows:

“24. For a consortium of contractors, if during the contract execution process, it is necessary to speed up the implementation progress compared to the signed contract (the contract is required to be amended), or due to objective conditions beyond the contractor’s control (such as natural disasters, storms, floods, material shortages, delays in site handover, changes in geological conditions, or other objective conditions not the contractor's fault) that prevent meeting the contractual schedule, or due to force majeure events affecting the contract schedule, the project owner and the contractor may reach an agreement on adjusting the scope of work between consortium members in accordance with the required schedule or the shortened schedule. In this case, the project owner must ensure that the members undertaking the additional work items are capable and experienced to meet the requirements for performing such work items, and the scope of work between consortium members is changed not for the purpose of bid transfer.”;

d) To add Clauses 28a, 28b, 28c and 28d after Clause 28 as follows:

“28a. For bidding packages for construction and installation, non-consultancy services, and consultancy services subject to bidding in advance as stipulated in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, if the approved project includes changes that result in an increase of the bidding package price (or increase of the approved estimate, if the estimate is approved after the contractor selection plan approval) by 30% or more, or if there is a modification to key technical evaluation criteria or a change in the project classification specified in the issued bidding dossiers, the project owner shall cancel the bidding process in accordance with Point b Clause 1 Article 17 of the Bidding Law; if the approved project does not result in an increase of 30% or more in the bidding package price or estimate, does not alter key technical evaluation criteria, and does not change the project classification specified in the issued bidding dossiers, and if a winning contractor has already been selected for the bidding package, the project owner may amend and supplement the scope of work and finalize for contract conclusion with the contractor.

For bidding packages for procurement of goods subject to bidding in advance as stipulated in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, if the approved project includes changes that result in an increase of the work volume by 20% or more, or if there is a change to the type of goods specified in the issued bidding dossiers, the project owner shall cancel the bidding process in accordance with Point b Clause 1 Article 17 of the Bidding Law; if the approved project does not result in an increase of 20% or more in the work volume, or does not change the goods type specified in the issued bidding dossiers, and if a winning contractor has already been selected for the bidding package, the project owner may amend and supplement the scope of work and finalize for contract conclusion with the contractor.

28b. For a bidding package consisting of many separate parts, if the proposed winning bid for a part exceeds 30% of the corresponding estimated value of that part as estimated, the bid solicitor shall require the contractor to clarify the cost components of the bid and assess the following factors:

a) Economic and technical elements related to the manufacturing or service provision process;

b) Market prices, determined through market analysis and consultation, in accordance with Clause 3 Article 15 of this Decree;

c) The origin of goods and services, as defined by laws.

If the clarifications meet the conditions specified at Points a, b and c of this Clause, as well as Clause 4 Article 27 of this Decree, the contractor’s bid dossiers shall still be accepted as the winning bid.

28c. In case the bidding package is of a special nature and applies the form of contractor appointment or contractor selection in special cases, and the foreign contractor has a binding requirement of only signing the contract when not having to register on the Vietnam National E-Procurement System, then when posting the results of contractor selection, the project owner does not need to require the foreign contractor to register.

28d. For a bidding package subject to online contractor selection, if the contractor selection result is unavailable during the bid dossier evaluation process, and the contractor is named in the bid opening record whose accounted blocked as prescribed by the bidding law, then its/his/her bid dossier shall not continue to be reviewed and evaluated.”;

dd) To amend and supplement Clause 29 as follows:

“29. Apart from the cases specified in Clauses 1 thru 28d of this Article, when a situation arises, the project owner shall consider and decide to handle the situation on the basis of ensuring competition, fairness, transparency, economic efficiency and accountability.”.

31. To replace the phrase “the design in an EPC, EP, or EC bidding package under a construction investment project specified in this Clause can be FEED or basic design. An EPC, EP, or EC bidding package shall not be formed if a technical design is available or the construction involves two-step design as specified in the law regulations on construction” with the phrase “EPC, EP, EC bidding package shall be formed based on basic design, FEED design; in case there is a technical design, EPC, EP, EC bidding package shall not be formed” in Clause 3 Article 3.

32. To replace the phrase “in the case where there is more than one quotation, they shall be averaged” with the phrase “in case there is more than one quotation, their average price shall be selected” at Point d Clause 2 Article 16.

33. To add the phrase “For advance bidding packages specified in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, contractors are not required to take bid security; however, they must include a commitment in the bid application form regarding their responsibility to participate in the bidding process” to Point a Clause 4 Article 35.

Article 3. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP dated September 16, 2024, detailing a number of articles of and measures to implement the Bidding Law regarding selection of investors to implement land-using investment projects

1. To amend and supplement Point d Clause 1 Article 1 as follows:

“d) Clause 2 Article 34a and Clause 4 Article 35 on investor selection in special cases, methods for investor selection;”.

2. To add Chapter IVa, consisting of Articles 44a and 44b, after Chapter IV as follows:

“Chapter IVa

INVESTOR SELECTION IN SPECIAL CASES

Article 44a. Cases and competence to decide on applying investor selection in special cases

1. Projects subject to national interest assurance requirements, and projects for performance of national political tasks directed in Resolutions, Conclusions and official directives issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and key leaders of the Party and State, for the implementation of a project, where applying any of the investor selection forms stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 Article 34 of the Bidding Law would render the implementation infeasible as required.

2. Projects subject to strict requirements on national defense and security, external affairs and territorial borders, based on opinions of the Ministry of Natural Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for which any of the investor selection forms specified in Clauses 1 and 2 Article 34 of the Bidding Law, cannot be applied.

3. Projects with specific requirements and conditions regarding investment procedures; procedures for land allocation or lease, sea area allocation; procedures, methods and criteria for investor selection, and the contents of the business investment project contract, including:

a) Offshore wind power projects as prescribed by the electricity law;

b) Projects requiring urgent execution, as directed in the Government’s Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, or notices of the Government leaders, where applying any of the investor selection forms under Clauses 1 and 2 Article 34 of the Bidding Law would not ensure timely completion;

c) Projects requiring immediate implementation to ensure connectivity and synchronization among project components, as directed in the Government’s Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, or notices of the Government leaders, where applying any of the investor selection forms under Clauses 1 and 2 Article 34 of the Bidding Law would not ensure effective management, exploitation and operation of the work in a synchronous and continuous manner;

d) Other projects with specific requirements and conditions regarding investment procedures; procedures for land allocation or lease, sea area allocation; procedures, methods and criteria for investor selection, and the contents of the business investment project contract, for which the open bidding or restricted bidding cannot be applied.

4. The competent agency shall decide on applying investor selection in special cases for projects specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article.

Article 44b. Order and procedures for decision on applying investor selection in special cases

1. Based on the requirements to implement projects, directions in Resolutions, Conclusions and official directives issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and key leaders of the Party and State (for projects specified in Clause 1 Article 44a of this Decree), or directions in the Government’s Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, or notices of the Government leaders (for projects specified at Points b and c Clause 3 Article 44a of this Decree), the competent persons shall assign the affiliated agencies and unit, specialized agencies to prepare application dossiers for investor selection in special cases. Such dossier must comprise:

a) A request for application of investor selection in special cases, specifying basic information about the project; explanation of the necessity and reason for applying investor selection in special cases; explanation of the investor selection plan, including main contents on the process and procedures for selecting investors, conditions for signing contracts and other related contents to meet the specific conditions of the project; proposals and recommendations;

b) A draft decision on applying investor selection in special cases, including contents specified in Clause 5 of this Article;

c) Relevant documents and legal documents.

2. Competent agencies shall send a document collecting opinions from relevant ministries and agencies regarding the necessity and reason for applying investor selection in special cases, including:

a) The Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for projects specified in Clause 2 Article 44a of this Decree;

b) Concerned ministries and agencies, for projects specified in Clauses 1 and 3 Article 44a of this Decree (if necessary).

3. Consulted agencies shall send their opinions on the necessity and reason for applying investor selection in special cases to competent agencies.

4. The competent person shall assign an agency or unit independent from those specified in Clause 1 of this Article to synthesize relevant agencies’ opinions and organize the appraisal of application dossiers for investor selection in special cases. An appraisal report must cover:

a) Assessment of the necessity and reason for investor selection in special cases specified in Article 34a of the Bidding Law;

b) Opinions on the plan for investor selection in special cases and draft decision of the competent agency in case of proposal for approval;

c) Proposal for competent agency for approval or disapproval of investor selection in special cases.

5. Based on the dossier of proposals and appraisal report, the competent agency shall consider and decide on approval or disapproval for applying investor selection in special cases. The competent agency’s decision must specify:

a) The approval for application of investor selection in special cases;

b) The plan for investor selection in special cases, specifying: The process and procedures for selecting investors and the progress monitoring table for implementing investor selection activities as prescribed in Article 12 of this Decree; conditions for signing and performing contracts; other relevant contents to meet the specific requirements and conditions of the project, ensuring the selection of investors with sufficient capacity, experience, and solutions to implement the project to ensure the effectiveness of the business investment plan, effective land use, and effective investment in developing industries, fields, and localities;

c) Responsibilities of bid solicitors and relevant agencies in the process of investor selection organization;

d) Other requirements in the project implementation (if any).

6. The bid solicitor shall organize the investor selection according to the approved plan. Based on the investor selection result, and the signed project contract, the business investment project shall be implemented in accordance with Chapter VI of this Decree.”.

Article 4. Amending and supplementing Point a Clause 2 Article 3 of Decree No. 95/2020/ND-CP dated August 24, 2020, guiding the procurement bidding under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Decree No. 09/2022/ND-CP dated January 12, 2022, guiding the procurement bidding under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Free Trade Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the European Union, and the Free Trade Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

To amend and supplement Point a Clause 2 Article 3 as follows:

“a) Signing the CPTPP on March 8, 2018; the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter referred to as the CPTPP member State);”.

Article 5. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect from the date of its signing for promulgation.

2. Transitional provisions

a) For bidding packages that have been approved and issued the dossiers of invitation for expression of interest, dossiers of invitation to prequalification, bidding dossiers and dossiers of requirements before January 15, 2024, the selection of a short list, and selection of contractors, contract conclusion and management shall continue to be organized in accordance with the Bidding Law No. 22/2023/QH15, Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP and their detailing and guiding documents.

b) In the period of between January 15, 2025, and before the effective date of this Decree, the selection of contractors shall comply with the Bidding Law No. 22/2023/QH15, the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Planning Law, Law on Investment, Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership and Bidding Law, and provisions of Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP which are consistent with the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Planning Law, Law on Investment, Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership and Bidding Law.

c) For draft treaties on the name of the State, for which the appraisal procedure has been completed under the Treaty Law before the effective date of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Planning Law, Law on Investment, Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership and Bidding Law, the agency in charge of negotiation shall submit to the Government for applying regulations with bidding-related provisions different from, or not yet prescribed in the Bidding Law, of the donors or international organizations to which the State, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, based on the appraised draft treaty dossiers.