Decree No. 136/2015/ND-CP dated December 31, 2015 of the Government guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment

DECREE

Guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment[1]

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 18, 2014 Law on Public Investment;

Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 100/2015/QH13 of November 12, 2015, approving investment policy for national target programs in the 2016-2020 period;

At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment,

The Government promulgates the Decree guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Decree guides in detail the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment regarding:

1. Classification of public investment programs and projects.

2. Formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment policy on, programs and group-A, group-B and group-C projects.

3. Formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, programs and group-A, group-B and group-C projects.

4. Adjustment of public investment programs and projects.

5. Management of public investment projects without construction components.

Article 2.Subjects of application

Agencies, organizations and individuals involved in public investment activities and the management and use of public investment funds.

Article 3.Interpretation of terms

1. Overall investment project means a large-scale investment project involving multiple sectors, fields or localities. An overall investment project consists of component projects in different sectors, fields or localities.

2. Project item means a part in the structure of an investment project divided by sector, field or purpose of investment of the project.

3. Project managed by a ministry, a ministerial-level agency, a government-attached agency, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the State Audit Office of Vietnam, the President Office, the National Assembly Office, the central body of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, a political organization, a socio-political organization, a state economic group, a state corporation or another central agency (below referred to as ministry or central sector), a local People’s Committee or an enterprise using public investment funds means a project in which investment is decided by a ministry, central sector or local People’s Committee under Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment, or a project in which investment is decided by an enterprise in accordance with law.

4. Emergency project means an investment project that is to be promptly implemented for the purpose of: protecting national sovereignty, ensuring national security; averting direct catastrophe to the life, health and property of the community; overcoming, promptly responding to, or preventing possible consequences of, aforce majeureevent or an incident, or responding to an extremely serious environmental incident.

5. Internal appraisal means a preliminary appraisal for finalizing the dossier and reports before sending them to a competent agency or an appraisal council for appraisal of investment policy or funding sources and fund-balancing capability as the basis for competent authorities to decide on investment policy. Internal appraisal includes appraisal of prefeasibility study report and investment policy proposal report; appraisal of funding sources and fund-balancing capability. Agencies in charge of internal appraisal of programs and projects managed by ministries, central agencies or People’s Committees at all levels shall be decided by heads of such ministries, central agencies or People’s Committees.

Article 4.Classification of public investment programs

1. National target program is a program defined in Clause 9, Article 4 of the Law on Public Investment and financed by public investment funds and funds of other economic sectors (if any).

2. Target program financed by the central budget is a program partly or wholly financed by the central budget for investment according to the objective and task of:

a/ A ministry or central agency only;

b/ A ministry, central agency as well as locality;

c/ A locality only.

3. Investment program wholly financed by balanced funds of a local budget, municipal bonds, retained revenues for investment not yet included in the local budget balance, and funds of other lawful sources of a locality is a target program of a local administration level to achieve specific objectives or perform specific tasks of the locality.

4. Target program financed by national bonds or government bonds is a program to achieve important objectives or perform important tasks on a national scale.

5. Investment program financed by ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors is a combination of activities and projects related to one or more than one sector, field, region, territory, ministry, central agency and locality to achieve specific objectives or perform specific tasks.

6. State development investment credit programs include investment credit programs and social policy credit programs implemented by the Vietnam Development Bank or Social Policy Bank to invest in projects eligible to borrow funds from these programs under the Government’s regulations.

7. Investment program financed by retained revenues for investment not yet included in the state budget balance of a ministry or central agency is a program to achieve specific objectives or perform specific tasks decided by the National Assembly or Government according to each specific source of revenue.

Article 5.Classification of publicinvestment projects

1. The classification of public investment projects must comply with Article 6 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The criteria for classification of group-A, group-B and group-C projects are prescribed in Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Law on Public Investment and specified in Appendix 1 to this Decree.

A project with multiple investment items falling in various sectors and fields shall be classified according to the investment component of the sector or field representing the highest funding ratio.

3. Criteria for identification of group-C key projects of localities:

a/ Provincial-level People’s Councils shall decide on criteria for group-C key projects under local management for each 5-year medium-term public investment plan in conformity with the objectives and orientations of the 5-year socio-economic development plan, financial capability and specific characteristics of each locality;

b/ Major criteria for identification of group-C key projects include significance and importance of the project in each sector, field or area to local socio-economic development in each period; size of the project in relation to its sector or field; spillover effect of the project on the development of the sector, field and territorial region; and economic, social and financial benefits (if any).

Article 6.Adjustment of criteria for classification of public investment projects

1. Criteria for classification of public investment projects may be adjusted under Article 11 of the Law on Public Investment. Particularly for consumer price index, the first adjustment of the criterion of total investment may be considered only when the annual average consumer price index increases over 30% compared to that of 2015; Subsequent adjustments shall be considered only when the annual average consumer price index increases over 30% compared to that of the year of the previous adjustment.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

a/ Summarize and report to the Government for opinion the adjustment of criteria for classification of public investment projects under Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ Finalize the report to the Prime Minister based on the Government’s opinion mentioned at Point a of this Clause and, after obtaining the Prime Minister approval, as authorized by the Prime Minister, submit on behalf of the Government the adjustment of criteria for classification of national important projects to the National Assembly or the adjustment of criteria for classification of group-A, group-B or group-C projects to the National Assembly Standing Committee for decision and reporting to the next National Assembly session.

Article 7.Costs of formulation and appraisal of public investment programs and projects

1. Costs of formulation and appraisal of investment policy proposal reports and feasibility reports of public investment programs financed by non-business funds of agencies and units performing these tasks and according to regulations on non-business expenditures of the state budget issued by competent agencies include:

a/ Cost of formulation of investment policy proposal reports and feasibility study reports (in case of hiring consultants);

b/ Cost of appraisal;

c/ If competent authorities disapprove investment policy on or investment in a public investment program, the costs mentioned at Points a and b of this Article shall still be accounted and settled in non-business expenditures of the agency assigned to formulate and appraise the program.

2. Costs of formulation and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects:

a/ Costs of formulation (in case of hiring consultants) and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects with construction components, specifying the preliminary total investment of the projects, must comply with Clause 2, Article 15 of the Law on Public Investment and the law on construction;

b/ Costs of formulation (in case of hiring consultants) and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects without construction components must comply with Point a of this Clause applicable to projects with construction components, excluding construction design-related contents.

3. Costs of formulation (in case of hiring consultants) and appraisal of investment policy proposal reports of group-B projects (with or without construction components), specifying the preliminary total investment of the projects, must comply with Clause 2, Article 15 of the Law on Public Investment and the following specific provisions:

a/ If the project’s total investment is between VND 800 billion and under VND 2,300 billion, these costs must not exceed 60% of the costs of formulation and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

b/ If the project’s total investment is under VND 800 billion, these costs must not exceed 30% of the costs of formulation and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Costs of formulation (in case of hiring consultants) and appraisal of investment policy proposal reports of group-C projects (with or without construction components) must comply with Clause 2, Article 15 of the Law on Public Investment and not exceed 50% of the costs of formulation and appraisal of investment policy proposal reports of group-B projects with total investment of under VND 800 billion prescribed at Point b, Clause 3 of this Article.

5. Costs of formulation (in case of hiring consultants) and appraisal of feasibility study reports of projects without construction components must comply with the Law on Public Investment and the law on construction, excluding construction design-related contents.

6. Costs of formulation (in case of hiring consultants) and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports, investment policy proposal reports and feasibility study reports prescribed in Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article shall be included in the project investment preparation fund. If competent authorities disapprove investment policy or investment, the costs already paid for the formulation of the prefeasibility study report, investment policy proposal report or feasibility study report shall be accounted and settled as investment preparation expenses in development investment expenditures of the project-managing ministry, central agency or local administration.

Chapter II

FORMULATION AND APPRAISAL OF, AND DECISION ON INVESTMENT POLICY ON, PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Article 8.Competence and conditions for decision on investment policy on programs and projects

1. The competence to decide on investment policy on programs and projects is prescribed in Article 17 of the Law on Public Investment. For group-B and group-C projects financed by different sources of public investment funds:

a/ Ministers or heads of central agencies shall decide on investment policy on projects under the management of their ministries or central agencies within their competence prescribed in Clause 4, Article 17 of the Law on Public Investment;

b/ People’s Councils and People’s Committees at all levels shall decide on investment policy on projects under the management of their localities within their competence prescribed at Point b, Clause 5 and in Clause 6, Article 17 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. Conditions for decision on investment policy on programs and projects are prescribed in Article 18 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 9.Order and procedures for decision on investment policy on public investment programs

1. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on national target programs are prescribed in Articles 19 and 21 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on programs under the Government’s competence are prescribed in Article 22 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on investment programs wholly financed by balanced funds of local budgets, municipal bonds, retained revenues for investment not yet included in the local budget balance, and other loans of the local budget for investment purposes are prescribed in Article 28 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 10.Order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-A projects

The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-A projects (including also emergency projects and projects in the form of public-private partnership prescribed at Point b, Clause 3, Article 33 of the Law on Public Investment) are prescribed in Article 23 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 11.Order and procedures for decision on investment policy on programs and projects financed by ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors

The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on programs and projects financed by ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors are prescribed in Article 24 of the Law on Public Investment and the government decree on management and use of ODA loans and concessional loans of foreign donors.

Article 12.Order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C projects, excluding small group-C projects of national target programs prescribed in Article 13 of this Decree

1. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C projects managed by the central bodies of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, and by other agencies and organizations are prescribed in Article 25 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C projects of ministries and central agencies are prescribed in Article 26 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C projects financed by the central budget or national or government bonds and managed by localities are prescribed in Article 27 of the Law on Public Investment. Particularly for projects managed by provincial-level People’s Committees, provincial-level People’s Committees shall set up a council to appraise the investment policy proposal reports of the projects under Point b, Clause 2, Article 23 of the Law on Public Investment, or assign the provincial-level Departments of Planning and Investment to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising the investment policy proposal reports and internally appraising funding sources and fund-balancing capability.

4. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C projects financed by balanced funds of local budgets, municipal bonds, retained revenues for investment not yet included in the local budget balance and other loans of the local budget for investment purposes are prescribed in Articles 29, 30 and 31 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 13.Order and procedures for formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment policy according to the summary process for, small group-C projects of national target programs which are technically unsophisticated and financed partly by the State and partly by the people

1. The Prime Minister shall decide on criteria of small group-C projects of national target programs which are technically unsophisticated and financed partly by the State and partly by the people (below referred to as small group-C projects) that are eligible for decision according to the summary process prescribed in Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.

2. Ministers and heads of central agencies shall:

a/ Assign an attached unit to formulate and internally appraise the investment policy proposal report for the list of small group-C projects falling in the case prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article (not investment policy proposal report for every individual project) and estimate the total investment of all listed projects, specifying the structure of public investment funds and other mobilized funding sources; finalize and send the report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the national target program-managing agency for appraisal of the funding sources and fund-balancing capability of projects financed by the central budget, national bonds or government bonds;

b/ Decide on investment policy on all listed projects, covering the objectives, sizes and total investment of these projects, structure of funding sources, locations and implementation schedules based on the appraisal report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on funding sources and fund balancing capability prescribed at Point a of this Clause.

3. Heads of central bodies of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, and of other agencies and organizations shall:

a/ Assign an attached unit to formulate and internally appraise the investment policy proposal report for the list of small group-C projects falling in the case prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article (not investment policy proposal report for every individual project) and estimate the total investment of all listed projects, specifying the structure of public investment funds and other mobilized funding sources; finalize and send the report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the national target program-managing agency for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of projects financed by the central budget, national bonds or government bonds;

b/ Based on the appraisal report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on funding sources and fund balancing capability referred to at Point a of this Clause, finalize and submit the investment policy proposal report to the Prime Minister for decision the investment policy on all listed projects, covering the objectives, sizes and total investment of these projects, structure of funding sources, locations and implementation schedules.

4. Provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall:

a/ Assign the national target program-managing agency or a lower-level People’s Committee to formulate an investment policy proposal report for the list of small group-C projects falling in the case prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article (not investment policy proposal report for every individual project) and estimate the total investment of all listed projects, specifying the structure of public investment funds and other mobilized funding sources, and submit it to competent authorities;

b/ Assign the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising the investment policy proposal report for the list of small group-C projects, without appraising in detail each project;

c/ Direct the unit referred to at Point a of this Clause to finalize the investment policy proposal report based on the appraisal report mentioned at Point b of this Clause, and send it to the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment for summarization and submission to the provincial-level People’s Committee for opinion and further submission to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the national target program-managing ministry for appraisal of the funding sources and fund balancing capability of projects financed by the central budget, national bonds or government bonds;

d/ Based on the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability, decide on investment policy on all listed projects, covering the objectives, sizes and total investment of these projects, the structure of funding sources, locations and implementation schedules of the projects.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment and agencies assigned to appraise funding sources and fund balancing capability prescribed in Article 38 of the Law on Public Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising the whole list of small group-C projects (without appraising in detail specific projects), and send it to the ministry, central agency or locality for finalization of the investment policy proposal report and submission to competent authorities to investment policy decision.

Article 14.Order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C emergency projects financed by the central budget

1. Ministers and heads of central agencies shall base themselves on the decisions of competent agencies on state or circumstances of emergency prescribed in the Ordinance on State of Emergency, the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the Law on Dikes and other relevant legal documents, and decisions on state of emergency in the fields of national defense and security (below referred to as emergency orders of competent authorities) to:

a/ Assign an attached unit to conduct survey and formulate an investment policy proposal report for the project;

b/ Assign a functional unit to appraise the project;

c/ Direct the unit mentioned at Point a of this Clause to finalize the investment policy proposal report for the project and submit it to the Prime Minister and concurrently send it to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the ministry or central agency related to the project.

2. Provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall base themselves on emergency orders of competent authorities to:

a/ Assign a specialized agency or a district-level People’s Committee to formulate an investment policy proposal report for the project;

b/ Assign the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related provincial-level departments and sectors in, appraising the investment policy proposal report of the project;

c/ Direct the unit referred to at Point a of this Clause to finalize the investment policy proposal report of the project based on the appraisal report mentioned at Point b of this Clause and send it to the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment for summarization and reporting to the provincial-level People’s Committee for submission to the Prime Minister and concurrent sending thereof to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the ministry or central agency related to the emergency project.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in, considering the possibility of adding annual central budget funds for the implementation of emergency projects or items that need to be implemented in the plan year, and submit these cases to the Prime Minister for decision on investment policy and addition of central budget funds in the year for implementation.

4. The Prime Minister shall decide on investment policy on emergency projects, covering objectives, sizes, total investments, locations, implementation schedules and structure of funding sources, specifying the amount of central budget funds to be invested in the projects.

Article 15.Order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C emergency projects financed by balanced funds of local budgets

1. For projects financed by balanced funds of provincial-level budgets, provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall base themselves on emergency orders of competent authorities to:

a/ Assign a specialized agency managing the emergency project or a district-level People’s Committee to conduct field survey and formulate an investment policy proposal report for the project;

b/ Assign the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related provincial-level departments and sectors in, appraising the investment policy proposal report, reporting it to the provincial-level People’s Committee for decision on investment policy and addition of funds for implementation;

c/ Decide on investment policy on the emergency project, covering the objective, size, total investment, location, time and schedule of implementation, structure of funding sources; and report it to the provincial-level People’s Council at its next session on the decision on investment policy on group-B emergency projects and group-C key projects under provincial management.

2. For projects financed by district- or commune-level budgets, district- or commune-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall base themselves on emergency orders of competent authorities to:

a/ Assign a district- or commune-level specialized agency to formulate an investment policy proposal report for the project;

b/ Assign the specialized investment management agency or set up an appraisal council to appraise the investment policy proposal report of the project and report it to the People’s Committee at the same level for decision on investment policy and addition of funds for implementation;

c/ Decide on investment policy on the emergency project, covering the objective, size, total investment, location, schedule of implementation and structure of funding sources; and report it to the People’s Council at the same level at its next session on the decision on investment policy on group-B emergency projects and group-C key projects under their management.

Article 16.Principles and time for decision on investment policy and implementation of emergency projects:

1. The principles of decision on investment policy on emergency projects are prescribed in Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. Procedures for decision on investment policy on emergency projects:

a/ For group-A projects, the procedures are prescribed in Article 23 of the Law on Public Investment;

b/ For group-B and group-C projects, the summary process prescribed in Articles 14 and 15 of this Decree shall be applied to ensure quick completion and early commissioning of the projects.

3. Particularly for emergency projects or items thereof that need to be immediately implemented to respond to natural disasters, storms, floods, dike or bank erosion that likely leads to dike, reservoir or dam break, motorway or railway erosion causing traffic congestion, and emergency events related to national defense or security, they may be carried out under emergency orders of competent authorities. Investment procedures prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article shall be prepared and completed in the course of project implementation.

The addition of emergency projects to medium-term public investment plans must satisfy the conditions prescribed in the Law on Public Investment and the government decree on medium-term and annual public investment plans.

Article 17.Principles, order and procedures for decision on investment policy on projects in the form of public-private partnership

1. The principles of decision on investment policy on projects in the form of public-private partnership are prescribed in Clause 2, Article 33 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on projects in the form of public-private partnership financed by public investment funds must comply with Articles 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 of the Law on Public Investment and Article 18 of this Decree.

3. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on projects in the form of public-private partnership financed by non-public investment funds must comply with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

Article 18.Principles, order and procedures for decision on investment policy on projects financed by state development investment credit

1. The principles of decision on investment policy on projects financed by state development investment credit are prescribed in Clause 1, Article 32 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-A projects are prescribed at Point b,  Clause 2, Article 32 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. The order and procedures for decision on investment policy on group-B and group-C projects managed by ministries, central agencies, central bodies of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, and by other agencies and organizations, and provincial-level People’s Committees and financed by state development investment credit are prescribed at Points c, d and dd, Clause 2, Article 32 of the Law on Public Investment.

4. For group-B and group-C projects financed by state development investment credit for business purposes and managed by state economic groups and corporations, enterprises and other agencies, organizations and individuals other than those prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article:

a/ State economic groups and corporations, enterprises and other agencies, organizations and individuals shall decide on investment policy on the projects according to Clause 1, Article 32 of the Law on Public Investment;

b/ The order and procedures for decision on grant of loans:

- State economic groups and corporations, enterprises, agencies, organizations or individuals shall propose a list of investment projects, prepare dossiers for state development investment credit loans and send them to the Vietnam Development Bank (for loans managed by the Vietnam Development Bank) or to the Social Policy Bank (for loans managed by the Social Policy Bank);

- The Vietnam Development Bank or Social Policy Bank shall appraise the dossiers for loans and decide to grant state development investment credit loans to the borrowers.

Dossiers and procedures for borrowing loans, the process and contents of appraisal of projects to be financed by loans must comply with Clause 1, Article 32, and Clause 1, Article 69 of the Law on Public Investment and the law on management of state development investment credit and social policy credit.

Article 19.Contents of prefeasibility study reports and investment policy proposal reports of programs and projects

1. The contents of an investment policy proposal report for a public investment program are prescribed in Article 34 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The contents of a prefeasibility study report of a group-A project are prescribed in Article 35 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. The contents of a prefeasibility study report of a group-B or group-C project are prescribed in Article 36 of the Law on Public Investment.

4. The contents of an investment policy proposal report for a group-B or group-C emergency project are prescribed in Article 36 of the Law on Public Investment, focusing on the following major contents:

a/ Nature and degree of emergency of the project;

b/ Size, location and scope of investment of the project;

c/ Preliminary total investment and structure of funding sources, including central budget fund and the amount to be allocated in the plan year; local budget fund; other lawful funding sources; resources to be contributed by the community (if any);

d/ Tentative implementation schedule and expected project quality;

dd/ Preliminary costs of operation and maintenance during the project operation;

e/ Principles of payment and compensation for ground clearance in accordance with the law on state of emergency and circumstances of emergency;

g/ Implementation organization solutions.

5. Contents of an investment policy proposal report for the listed small group-C projects of a national target program include:

a/ List of the projects;

b/ Necessity of investment, conditions for investment, assessment of conformity with the national target program;

c/ Preliminary total investment and structure of funding sources of all listed projects, including central budget fund; local budget fund; other lawful funding sources; resources to be contributed by the community (if any);

d/ Tentative implementation schedule;

dd/ Implementation organization solutions.

6. Contents of investment policy proposal reports of group-B and group-C projects invested in the form of public-private partnership must comply with Article 36 of the Law on Public Investment and the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

Article 20.Dossiers for appraisal of prefeasibility study reports and investment policy proposal reports of programs and projects

1. A dossier for appraisal of a prefeasibility study report or an investment policy proposal report of a program or project must comprise:

a/ A written proposal for the competent authority to decide on investment policy on the program or project;

b/ The prefeasibility study report, for a group-A project; the investment policy proposal report, for a national target program, target program, group-B project or group-C project as prescribed in Article 19 of this Decree;

c/ The internal appraisal report;

d/ A competent agency’s appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability;

dd/ The emergency order of a competent authority (applicable to emergency projects);

e/ Other relevant documents as requested by authorities competent to decide on investment policy.

2. The number of dossier sets to be sent to the standing body of the appraisal council or the agency in charge of appraisal mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article is prescribed as follows:

a/ For investment policy proposal reports of programs: 20 sets;

b/ For prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects: 15 sets;

c/ For investment policy proposal reports of group-B and group-C projects: 5 sets.

The agency in charge of appraisal or the standing body of the appraisal council may request, if finding it necessary, the program- or project-managing agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 21.Dossiers for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of programs and projects

1. A dossier for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of a public investment program or project must comprise:

a/ A written proposal addressed to the agency assigned to appraise funding sources and fund balancing capability;

b/ The prefeasibility study report, for a group-A project; the investment policy proposal report, for a national target program, target program, group-B project or group-C project according to the Law on Public Investment and Article 19 of this Decree;

c/ The internal appraisal report;

d/ The opinion of the provincial-level People’s Council or its standing body, for a group-A project, group-B project or group-C key project financed by the central budget, national bonds or government bonds and managed by the local administration;

dd/ Other relevant documents (if any).

2. The number of dossier sets to be sent to the agency in charge of appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article is 5.

The agency in charge of appraisal prescribed in Article 38 of the Law on Public Investment may request, if finding it necessary, the program- or project-managing agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 22.Dossiers to be submitted to authorities competent to decide on investment policy on programs and projects

1. A dossier to be submitted to an authority competent to decide on investment policy on a program or project must comprise:

a/ Documents specified in Clause 1, Article 20 of this Decree, with the written proposal and prefeasibility study report or the investment policy proposal report specified at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 20 of this Decree already finalized based on the appraisal report of the appraisal council or appraisal agency;

b/ The appraisal report of the appraisal council or appraisal agency on the investment policy of the program or project;

c/ The appraisal report of the appraisal agency on funding sources and fund balancing capability of the program or project.

2. The number of dossier sets to be submitted to the authority competent to decide on investment policy on a program or project prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article is 5.

The authority competent to decide on investment policy on a program or project may request, if finding it necessary, the program- or project-managing agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 23.Contents of appraisal of investment policy on public investment programs

1. Satisfaction of the criteria for identification of national target programs or target programs.

2. Compliance with law by the contents of the submitted dossier.

3. Conformity with strategic objectives; regional or territorial socio-economic development plan and master plan; sectoral development master plan.

4. Contents prescribed in Article 34 of the Law on Public Investment, including basic details of the program such as objectives, scope and subjects of investment, implementation duration and schedule; funding sources and fund balancing capability; mobilization of other funding sources.

5. Socio-economic efficiency, environmental protection and sustainable development.

Article 24.Contents of appraisal of investment policy on public investment projects

1. Necessity of investment.

2. Compliance with law by the contents of the submitted dossier.

3. Conformity with strategic objectives; regional or territorial socio-economic development plan and master plan; sectoral development master plan.

4. Satisfaction of the criteria for classification of group-A, group-B or group-C projects.

5. Contents prescribed in Articles 35 and 36 of the Law on Public Investment, including basic details of the project such as objectives, scope and form of investment, size and location and land area to be used, implementation duration and schedule; selected main technology, environmental protection solutions, funding sources and fund balancing capability; loan recoverability and repayment, for projects financed by loans.

6. Socio-economic efficiency, environmental protection and sustainable development.

7. The degree of emergency of the project or project item, for emergency projects.

8. Contents prescribed by the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership, in addition to the contents prescribed in Clauses 1 thru 6 of this Article, for projects invested in the form of public-private partnership.

Article 25.Contents of appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of programs and projects

1. Compliance with procedures, internal appraisal and finalization of the program or project dossier.

2. Compatibility of the program or project with funding sources; compatibility of the objectives and subjects of investment financed by funding sources expected to be used.

3. Capability to allocate funds for the program or project in the total planned medium-term investment fund of each sector, field or program of each ministry, central agency or locality in the priority order prescribed in the Law on Public Investment and relevant laws.

The capability of balancing state budget funds specified by central budget, local budget, national bonds, government bonds, retained revenues for investment but not yet included in the state budget balance, ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors, state development investment credit and other lawful funding sources. The fund-balancing capability shall be considered based on the estimated fund demand of the public investment program or project against the total investment by each funding source in the medium-term and annual investment plans. For state budget funds, the fund-balancing capability of each budget level, targeted additions from higher-level budgets to lower-level budgets, including funds for national target programs, funds for target programs and other additional allocations, shall be considered.

4. The funding amount expected to be allocated for the project by funding source and specific fund allocation schedule.

5. Other opinions, if any.

Article 26.Time of appraisal of investment policy on programs and projects and agencies sending appraisal results

1. The time of appraisal of prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects, investment policy proposal reports of programs, group-B and group-C projects, counting from the date the standing body of the appraisal council or agency in charge of appraisal receives a complete and valid dossier, is prescribed below:

a/ For national target programs: 60 days at most;

b/ For target programs: 45 days at most;

c/ For group-A projects: 45 days at most;

d/ For group-B projects: 30 days at most;

dd/ For group-C projects: 20 days at most.

2. The time of appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of programs and projects, counting from the date the appraisal agency receives a complete and valid dossier, is prescribed below:

a/ For national target programs and target programs: 40 days at most;

b/ For group-A projects: 30 days at most;

c/ For group-B and group-C projects: 15 days at most.

3. The time of appraisal of investment policy and appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall be applied only to the appraisal stage prior to submission to authorities competent to decide on investment policy on public investment programs and projects.

The time of internal appraisal by ministries, central agencies and localities shall be specified by ministers, heads of central agencies and provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons.

4. When it is necessary to extend the time of appraisal of investment policy or funding sources and fund balancing capability, the agency in charge of appraisal or the standing body of the appraisal council shall:

a/ Propose the Prime Minister to decide on the extension of the time of appraisal of the prefeasibility study report of a national target program, target program or group-A project;

b/ Notify the extension of the time of appraisal of the investment policy proposal report of a group-B or group-C project to the agency competent to decide on investment policy;

c/ The extended time must not exceed the corresponding appraisal time prescribed in Clause 1 or 2 of this Article.

5. The agency in charge of appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability shall send the appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability as follows:

a/ For a public investment program for which a council is set up to appraise its investment policy proposal report: Send the report to the appraisal council;

b/ For a group-A project: Send the report according to Clause 4, Article 23 of the Law on Public Investment;

c/ For a group-B or group-C project: Send the report to the submitting agency; the project-managing agency; the agency appraising the investment policy on the project and the agency competent to decide on investment policy.

6. The appraisal council or agency in charge of appraisal of the prefeasibility study report of a group-A project or investment policy proposal report of a program or group-B or group-C project shall send the appraisal report as follows:

a/ For a public investment program: Send the report to the program-managing agency and agency competent to decide on investment policy;

b/ For a group-A project: Send the report according to Clause 5, Article 23 of the Law on Public Investment, and concurrently to the Government Office for reporting to the Prime Minister;

c/ For a group-B or group-C project: Send the report to the submitting agency; the project-managing agency and the agency competent to decide on investment policy.

Article 27.Time of decision on investment policy on programs and projects and time of sending investment policy decisions to the agency in charge of summarizing public investment plans

1. The time of decision on investment policy on a program or project, counting from the date an authority competent to decide on investment policy receives a complete and valid dossier, is prescribed as follows:

a/ For target programs: 30 days at most;

b/ For group-A projects: 30 days at most;

c/  For group-B and group-C projects: 20 days at most.

2. Within 15 working days after a competent authority decides on investment policy on programs or projects, ministries, central agencies and localities that manage such programs or projects shall:

a/ Send the decision on investment policy on the program or project financed by the central budget; national bonds; government bonds; ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors; state development investment credit; or retained revenues not yet included in the state budget balance of the ministry or central agency to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance;

b/ Send the decision on investment policy on the program or project financed by local budget, municipal bonds or retained revenues for investment not yet included in local budget balances to the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment and Department of Finance and the district- or commune-level specialized investment management agency.

Chapter III

FORMULATION AND APPRAISAL OF, AND DECISION ON INVESTMENT IN, PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Article 28.Competence and bases for formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, programs and projects

1. The competence to decide on programs and projects is prescribed in Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The bases for formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, programs and projects are prescribed in Article 40 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 29.Order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, public investment programs

1. The order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, national target programs is prescribed in Article 41 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, national target programs on which investment policy is decided by the Government is prescribed in Article 42 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. The order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, national target programs on which investment policy is decided by People’s Councils is prescribed in Article 43 of the Law on Public Investment:

a/ For programs wholly financed by balanced funds of provincial-level budgets, state development investment credit, municipal bonds, retained revenues for investment not yet included in provincial-level budget balances and other loans borrowed by local budgets, provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall set up an appraisal council with the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment as the standing body to appraise the feasibility study reports of these programs.

b/ For programs wholly financed by balanced funds of district- or commune-level budgets, retained revenues for investment not yet included in district- or commune-level budget balances, district- or commune-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall set up an appraisal council to appraise the feasibility study reports of these programs;

c/ The program-managing agency shall finalize the feasibility study report based on the appraisal report of the appraisal council and draft an investment decision and submit it to the chairperson of the People’s Committee of the corresponding level prescribed at Point a or b of this Article for consideration and decision.

Article 30.Order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, projects without construction components

1. Order and contents of decision on investment in projects managed by ministries and central agencies:

a/ The minister or head of a central agency shall assign the project-managing agency to formulate a feasibility study report for the project based on the investment policy already decided by competent authorities; set up an appraisal council or assign the specialized investment management agency to appraise the feasibility study report of the project;

b/ The project-managing agency shall finalize the feasibility study report of the project based on the appraisal opinion mentioned at Point a of this Clause and submit it to the minister or head of the central agency or head of the immediate lower-level agency centralized or authorized to decide on investment in group-B and group-C projects under Point c, Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment, for investment decision;

c/ The competent authority shall decide on investment in the project, covering the following principal contents: project name, project-managing agency; project formulation consultancy organization (if any); objective and scope of investment, project implementation schedule; location; technology design (if any); technical regulations; total investment; funding sources and projected allocation of funding sources according to schedule; form of project management organization to be applied, etc.;

2. Order and contents of decision on investment in projects managed by the provincial level:

a/ The provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson shall assign the project-managing agency to formulate a feasibility study report for the project based on the investment policy already decided by competent authorities and submit it to the provincial-level People’s Committee or an immediate lower-level agency decentralized or authorized to decide on investment under Point c, Clause 3, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment;

b/ The provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson shall set up an appraisal council with a vice chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee as its chairperson and the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment as its standing body to appraise the feasibility study report, if the project is a group-A one under local management; or assign the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising the feasibility study report, if the project is a group-B or group-C one;

c/ The project-managing agency shall finalize the feasibility study report of the project based on the appraisal opinion mentioned at Point b of this Clause and send it to the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment for summarization and submission to the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson or the head of the immediate lower-level agency decentralized or authorized to decide on investment in group-B and group-C projects under Point c, Clause 3, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment, for investment decision;

d/ The competent authority shall decide on investment in the project, including the following principal contents: project name, investor; project formulation consultancy organization (if any); objective and scope of investment, project implementation schedule; location; technology design (if any); technical regulations; total investment; funding sources and projected allocation of funding sources according to schedule; form of project management organization to be applied, etc.;

3. Order and contents of decision on investment in projects managed by the district and commune levels:

a/ The district- or commune-level People’s Committee chairperson shall assign the project owner to formulate a feasibility study report for the project based on the investment policy already decided by competent authorities; assign the specialized investment management agency or set up an appraisal council to appraise the feasibility study report;

b/ The project owner shall finalize the feasibility study report of the project based on the appraisal opinion mentioned at Point a of this Clause and submit it to the district- or commune-level People’s Committee chairperson or the immediate lower-level agency decentralized or authorized under Point c, Clause 4, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment, for investment decision;

c/ The competent authority shall decide on investment in the project, including the following principal contents: project name, investor; project formulation consultancy organization (if any); objective and scope of investment, project implementation schedule; location; technology design (if any); technical regulations; total investment; funding sources and projected allocation of funding sources according to the schedule; form of project management organization to be applied, etc.;

Article 31.Order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, projects with construction components

1. The order of formulation and appraisal of projects with construction components must comply with the law on construction and the Law on Public Investment.

2. For projects managed by the provincial level:

a/ The agency in charge of appraisal shall send the appraisal report referred to in Clause 1 of this Article to the project owner and concurrently to the provincial-level Department of Planning and investment;

b/ The provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising other contents of the feasibility study report of the project (if any); appraising all repair, renovation, maintenance and upgrading projects financed by public investment funds (except those financed by the state budget) of under VND 5 billion under provincial management; summarize the appraisal result and send it to the project owner;

c/ The project owner shall finalize the feasibility study report based on the appraisal opinion mentioned at Points a and b of this Clause and send it to the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment, which shall examine the conformity with the approved investment policy and the capability of balancing funding sources and submit the result to the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson or to the immediate lower-level agency decentralized or authorized under Point c, Clause 3, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment, for consideration and decision on project investment.

3. For projects managed by district and commune levels:

a/ The agency in charge of appraisal shall send the appraisal report referred to in Clause 1 of this Article to the project owner and concurrently to the district- or commune-level specialized investment management agency;

b/ The district- or commune-level specialized investment management agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising other contents of the feasibility study report of the project (if any); appraising all repair, renovation, maintenance and upgrading projects financed by public investment funds (except those financed by the state budget) of under VND 5 billion under district or commune management; summarize the appraisal result and send it to the project-managing agency;

c/ The project owner shall finalize the feasibility study report based on the appraisal opinion mentioned at Points a and b of this Clause and send it to the specialized investment management agency for submission to the district- or commune-level People’s Committee chairperson or to the immediate lower-level agency decentralized or authorized by the district-level People’s Committee, for decision on investment.

4. Ministers, heads of central sectors and chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels, or decentralized or authorized lower-level agencies shall decide on investment in the projects with principal contents prescribed by the construction law.

Article 32.Order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, emergency projects

Ministers and heads of central sectors or chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels who are competent to decide on investment in projects under Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment shall decide on the order of formulation and appraisal of, and on investment in, emergency projects under the management of ministries, central sectors or localities; and organize the appraisal and approval of the projects and their designs and cost estimates in accordance with the law on public investment, the law on construction and other relevant laws.

Article 33.Order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, projects in the form of public-private partnership

The order and contents of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, projects in the form of public-private partnership must comply with the Law on Public Investment, the law on construction, Articles 30 and 31 of this Decree, and the government decree on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

Article 34.Order of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on adjustment of programs and projects

1. Authorities competent to decide on investment may adjust programs and projects in accordance with Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. The program- or project-managing agency shall:

a/ Evaluate the implementation of the public investment program or project up to the time of proposal for adjustment; and report the evaluation result to the authority competent to decide on investment;

b/ Assign a specialized agency to make an adjustment proposal report for the public investment program or project. Such report must specify the reasons for adjustment; and analyze socio-economic effectiveness and financial efficiency (if any) to be brought about by the adjustment;

c/ Organize the internal appraisal of the adjustment of the public investment program or project, including appraisal of funding sources and fund-balancing capability in case the adjustment involves increase of total investment;

d/ Within 15 working days after receiving the appraisal opinion mentioned at Point c of this Clause, finalize the adjustment proposal report and submit it to the competent authority for decision on the adjustment. Particularly, in case the program or project adjustment involves adjustment of total investment:

- The  agency managing the national target program or target program and the minister or head of the central sector or the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee managing the project financed by the central budget, national bonds, government bonds, ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors, or retained revenues not yet included in the state budget balance of the ministry or central sector shall send the program or project adjustment proposal report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability;

- The agency managing the target program or the project financed by balanced funds of the local budget, or other loans of the local budget for investment shall send the program or project adjustment proposal report to competent agencies for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability;

dd/ Within 15 working days after receiving the appraisal report mentioned at Point d of this Clause, finalize the program or project adjustment proposal report based on the appraisal opinion and submit it to competent authorities for decision on program or project adjustment.

3. Authorities competent to decide on program or project adjustment shall approve the adjustment decision according to the contents specified in Clause 4 of this Article and the time specified in Clause 1, Article 44 of this Decree.

4. The decision on adjustment of a public investment program or project includes adjustments corresponding to the contents of the decision on the program or project prescribed in the Law on Public Investment and this Decree.

Article 35.Dossier for appraisal of a public investment program

1. Dossier for appraisal of a program:

a/ A written proposal for appraisal specifying the necessity of investment in the program; objectives and principal contents of the feasibility study report of the program; proposal for competent authorities to decide on the program;

b/ The feasibility study report of the program as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 47 of the Law on Public Investment;

c/ Other relevant documents serving the appraisal of public investment programs and projects.

2. The number of dossier sets for appraisal of a public investment program to be sent to the agency in charge of appraisal or the standing body of the appraisal council is 20. The agency in charge of appraisal or standing body of the appraisal council may request, if finding it necessary, the program-managing agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 36.Dossier of appraisal of a public investment project

1. Dossier for appraisal of a public investment project without construction components:

a/ A written proposal for appraisal specifying the necessity of investment in the project; objectives and principal contents of the feasibility study report of the project; proposal for competent authorities to decide on the project;

b/ The feasibility study report of the project as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 47 of the Law on Public Investment;

c/ The reports of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels summarizing opinions of residents in the place where the project is to be implemented under Clause 2, Article 82 of the Law on Public Investment;

d/ Other relevant documents serving the appraisal of public investment programs and projects.

2. A dossier for appraisal of a public investment project with construction components must comply with the law on construction and other relevant laws, and contain opinions of residents under Point c, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Number of dossier sets to be sent to the agency in charge of appraisal or the standing body of the appraisal council:

a/ For group-A projects without construction components: 15 sets;

b/ For group-B and group-C projects without construction components: 10 sets;

c/ For projects with construction components: To comply with the law on construction.

The agency in charge of appraisal may request, if finding it necessary, the project-managing agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 37.Dossiers to be submitted to competent authorities for decision on investment in programs and projects

1. A dossier to be submitted to competent authorities for decision on investment in a program or project must comprise:

a/ A written proposal to competent authorities to decide on investment in the program or project and the feasibility study report already finalized based on the appraisal opinion;

b/ The competent authority’s decision on investment policy on the program or project;

c/ The appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability;

d/ The appraisal report on the feasibility study report;

dd/ Other relevant documents.

2. Number of dossier sets to be submitted to competent authorities for decision on a program or project under Clause 1 of this Article:

a/ For programs: 3 sets;

b/ For group-A projects: 3 sets;

c/ For group-B and group-C projects: 2 sets.

Authorities competent to decide on investment in programs or projects may, if finding it necessary, request dossier-submitting agencies to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 38.Dossiers for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of adjusted programs or projects

1. A dossier submitted to competent authorities for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability for an adjusted program or project must comprise:

a/ A written proposal for appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability for increasing total investment of the program or project;

b/ The original investment decision of the program or project and previous decisions (if any) on investment adjustment of the program or project;

c/ The appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability of the program or project submitted to competent authorities for decision on the original investment policy and previous adjustments;

d/ The internal appraisal report on the adjustment of the investment decision of the program or project;

dd/ Other relevant documents (if any) as requested by the appraisal agency.

2. The number of dossier sets sent to the agency in charge of appraising funding sources and fund balancing capability is prescribed in Clause 2, Article 21 of this Decree. The agency in charge of appraisal may request, if finding it necessary, the program- or project-managing agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 39.Dossiers submitted to competent authorities for decision on adjustment of programs and projects

1. A dossier submitted to competent authorities for decision on adjustment of a program or project must comprise:

a/ A written proposal for competent authorities to decide on adjustment of the program or project specifying the objective of and reason for the adjustment under Clause 1, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment;

b/ The competent authority’s decision on investment policy on the program or project;

c/ The competent authority’s original decision on investment in the program or project and previous decisions on investment adjustment (if any);

d/ The appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability of the program or project according to adjusted total investment;

dd/ The internal appraisal report on the program or project adjustment proposal and other relevant appraisal reports as prescribed by law (if any);

e/ The report on the examination and evaluation of the program or project implementation as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment;

g/ Other relevant documents.

2. The number of dossier sets to be submitted to competent authorities for decision on adjustment of a program or project must comply with Clause 2, Article 37 of this Decree. Competent authorities may request, if finding it necessary, the dossier-submitting agency to provide additional dossier sets.

Article 40.Contents of appraisal of programs and projects

1. Contents of appraisal of a national target program or target program include:

a/ Compliance with law in the content of the submitted dossier;

b/ Conformity of the program with the approved investment policy on the program;

c/ Contents of the feasibility study report of the program prescribed in Clause 1, Article 47 of the Law on Public Investment;

d/ Compatibility with funding sources and fund balancing capability already appraised by competent authorities; compatibility of the program’s total investment with the medium-term and annual public investment plans; structure of central and local budget funds and other lawful funding sources; loan recoverability and payment in case the program is financed by loans.

2. Contents of appraisal of a public investment project without construction components include:

a/ Compliance with law in the content of the submitted dossier;

b/ Conformity of the project with the approved investment policy on the project;

c/ Contents of the feasibility study report of the project prescribed in Clause 2, Article 47 of the Law on Public Investment;

d/ Compatibility with the appraisal report on funding sources and fund balancing capability; compatibility of the project’s total investment with the balanced fund in the medium-term and annual public investment plans; structure of funding sources, public investment fund balancing capability and mobilization of other funding sources and resources for project implementation; assessment of operation, maintenance and overhaul costs in the course of project operation;

dd/ Spillover effect of the project on sectoral, regional and local development and on the generation of additional budget revenues, employment, income and people’s life; impacts on the environment and sustainable development.

3. Contents of appraisal of public investment projects with construction components must comply with Clause 2 of this Article and the law on construction.

4. The appraisal of a public investment program or project regarding the contents specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be based on the contents of the investment policy decision of the competent authority. The size and total investment, including the structure of funds, of a project must not exceed the levels specified in the investment policy decision. If it is extremely necessary to increase the size and total investment of a program or project already specified in the investment policy decision, this shall be reported to the agency that has decided on the investment policy for opinion, and the funding sources and fund balancing capability shall be re-appraised. Re-appraisal is not required if the increase in the size does not result in an increase in total investment and still ensures the objective of the project specified in the investment policy decision.

Article 41.Contents of appraisal of adjusted investment programs or projects

1. Contents of appraisal of a national target program or target program include:

a/ The contents specified in Clause 1, Article 40 of this Decree;

b/ Compliance with law on adjustment of programs as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 3, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment and in this Decree.

2.  Contents of appraisal of a public investment project include:

a/ The contents prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 40 of this Decree;

b/ Compliance with law on adjustment of projects under Clauses 2 and 3, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment, the law on construction and this Decree.

Article 42.Contents of appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of adjusted programs or projects

1. Compliance with the procedures for and internal appraisal of the increase in total investment, and for dossier finalization.

2. The appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability for the increased amount of the total investment of a project must comply with the Law on Public Investment and conform with the capability of balancing public investment funds for a 5- year period. An appraisal report must specify:

a/ The conformity of the project in terms of objectives and subjects in the sector, field or program financed by the expected funding source;

b/ The capability to allocate funds for the increase in the project’s total investment within the total fund in the medium-term investment plan of each sector, field or program of the ministry, central sector or locality in accordance with law.

3. The funding amount to be allocated for the project from the funding source to be appraised and the specific time for fund allocation.

Article 43.Time of appraisal of programs and projects

1. The time of appraisal of public investment programs and projects without construction components, counting from the date the appraisal agency receives a complete and valid dossier, is prescribed as follows:

a/ For national target programs: 40 days;

b/ For target programs: 30 days;

c/ For group-A projects: 40 days;

d/ For group-B projects: 30 days;

dd/ For group-C projects: 20 days.

2. The time of appraisal of public investment projects with construction components must comply with the law on construction.

3. The time of appraisal specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be applied only to the stage of appraisal prior to submission to competent authorities for decision on investment in public investment programs and projects. The time of internal appraisal by ministries, central sectors and localities shall be specified by ministers and heads of central sectors and provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons.

4. When it is necessary to extend the time of appraisal of a program or project:

a/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall report to the Prime Minister for permission to extend the time of appraisal of national target programs and target programs;

b/ The provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment or the standing body of the appraisal council shall report to the chairperson of the People’s Committee of the same level for permission to extend the time of appraisal of investment programs wholly financed by the balanced funds of local budgets, municipal bonds, retained revenues for investment but not yet included in the local budget balance, or other loans of local budgets for investment, and of public investment projects under local management;

c/ The agency in charge of appraisal or the standing body of the appraisal council of a public investment project shall notify the extended time of appraisal to the agency that has decided on the project investment;

d/ The extended time of appraisal mentioned at Point a, b or c of this Clause must not exceed the corresponding appraisal time limit prescribed in Clause 1, 2 or 3 of this Article.

Article 44.Time of decision on, and decision on adjustment of, programs and projects and time of sending decisions on, and decisions on adjustment of, programs and projects to the agency in charge of summarizing medium-term and annual public investment plans

1. The time of decision on investment in or on adjustment of public investment programs or projects, counting from the date authorities competent to decide on investment in the programs or projects receive a complete and valid dossier, is prescribed as follows:

a/ For national target programs: 30 days;

b/ For target programs: 20 days;

c/ For group-A projects: 20 days;

d/ For group-B and group-C projects: 15 days.

2. Within 15 working days after competent authorities decide on investment in or adjustment of programs or projects, ministries, central sectors or localities managing such programs or projects shall send:

a/ The decision on investment in or adjustment of the program or project financed by the central budget; national bonds; government bonds; ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors; state development investment credit; or retained revenues for investment but not yet included in the state budget balance of the ministry or central sector to the Government Office, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance;

b/ The decision on investment in or adjustment of the program or project financed by the balanced funds of the local budget; municipal bonds; or retained revenues for investment but not yet include in the local budget balance to the provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment and Department of Finance and district- or commune-level specialized investment management agency.

Chapter IV

MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROJECTS WITHOUT CONSTRUCTION COMPONENTS

Article 45.Organization of management of projects

1. Investment deciders shall decide on the forms of organization of management of projects to meet the management requirements and specific conditions of the projects, ensuring realization of the approved investment objectives and effectiveness of the projects.

2. For projects financed by ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors, the forms of organization of their management must comply with ODA treaties or agreements with donors. If such ODA treaty or agreement contains no specific provisions, the organization of management of these projects must comply with Clause 1 of this Article.

3. For investment projects in the form of public-private partnership, the organization of their management must comply with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership and relevant laws.

4. For emergency projects:

a/ Authorities competent to decide on investment in projects under Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment shall decide on the organization of management of emergency projects; organize construction supervision and test of completed projects in accordance with the law on public investment, the law on construction and other relevant laws;

b/ Authorities competent to decide on investment in projects under emergency orders prescribed at Point a of this Clause may authorize project-managing agencies to decide on and take responsibility for the organization of management of the projects from the stage of project formulation, survey, design and construction to the stage of project completion and operation, and shall take responsibility for such authorization.

Article 46.Project design

1. A project design may involve one or more steps as decided by authorities competent to decide on investment depending on the type of project and form of implementation. Specifically:

a/  Preliminary design for formulating the prefeasibility study report of a group-A project or the investment policy proposal report of a group-B or group-C project;

b/ Design at the stage of investment decision and project implementation:

- For a small group-C project with total investment of under VND 15 billion, the one-step design being the construction drawing design (if any) shall be applied;

- For a group-B or group-C project with total investment of VND 15 billion or more, the two-step design involving basic design and construction drawing design (if any) shall be applied;

- For a group-A project, the three-step design involving basic design, technical design and construction drawing design (if any) shall be applied;

- Other design steps (if any) according to international practice.

2. Contents of the preliminary design and design steps in the stage of investment decision and project implementation prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article must comply with the law on management of construction investment projects, excluding construction design contents.

3. For investment projects financed by ODA loans or concessional loans of foreign donors, the number of design steps must comply with the ODA treaties or agreements with donors. If such ODA treaty or agreement contains no specific provisions, the number of design steps must comply with Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. For projects applying a design involving two or more steps prescribed at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, the design of a step must accord with the major contents and specifications of that of the previous step.

Article 47.Content and determination of total investment of projects

1. Preliminary total investment of a project is the estimated investment cost of a project determined according to the preliminary design and other contents of the prefeasibility study report of a group-A project, or according to the investment policy proposal report of a group-B or group-C project. The preliminary total investment of a project shall be calculated on the basis of the size, output or serving capacity of a project and the investment ratio or cost data of completed or ongoing projects which are similar in terms of type, size and characteristics, with adjusted and additional costs as necessary.

2. Total investment of a project is all investment costs of a project which are more specifically determined according to the basic design or one-step design prescribed at Point b, Clause 1, Article 46 of this Decree and other contents of the feasibility study report of the project. The total investment of a project includes the cost of purchase of assets, houses, land, etc.; cost of materials, spare parts, or details of machinery, cost of equipment; cost of remuneration and wages; cost of consultancy; provisional cost of arising volume and inflation; cost of management and other costs.

3. Breakdowns of costs in the total investment:

a/ Cost of purchase of assets, houses, land, etc.;

b/ Cost of materials, spare parts, details of machinery, etc., for implementing the project, such as project to manufacture equipment in complete units, shipbuilding, etc.;

c/ Cost of equipment including cost of procurement of equipment and technological equipment, cost of training and technology transfer (if any), cost of installation, experimentation, calibration, etc.;

d/ Cost of wages and remuneration for project implementation;

dd/ Cost of depreciation of assets, machinery, equipment, etc.;

e/ Cost of transport, insurance; taxes, charges and other related costs;

g/ Consultancy cost including cost of survey consultancy, formulation of prefeasibility study report, investment policy proposal report, or formulation of feasibility study report, cost of design, cost of project supervision consultancy and other related consultancy costs (if any);

h/ Provisional cost including provisional cost of arising work volume and provisional cost for inflation during the project implementation;

i/ Management cost and other costs.

4. Methods of determining some specific costs in the total investment of a project are prescribed as follows:

a/ Cost of purchase of assets, houses and land shall be determined on the basis of the area, output or serving capacity according to the basic design and suitable to the time of calculating total investment and location of the project;

b/ Cost of materials, spare parts and details of machinery (if any) for implementation of projects to manufacture equipment in complete units or shipbuilding, etc., shall be calculated on the basis of quantity and quality according to technical requirements and market prices;

c/ Cost of equipment shall be determined on the basis of quantity and types of equipment or the equipment system according to the selected technology, technical and equipment plan, market prices and other related costs;

d/ Cost of wage and remuneration shall be determined on the basis of standards, norms, remuneration and wage of workers prescribed by law;

dd/ Cost of depreciation of assets, machinery and equipment shall be determined according to regulations; in case of rent, it shall be based on the market rent rates of assets, machinery and equipment;

e/ Cost of freight and insurance; taxes and charges and other related costs shall be calculated in accordance with law and freight rates;

g/ Consultancy cost shall be determined on the basis of consultancy tasks of similar implemented projects or estimated costs of consultancy tasks according to set norms (if any) or market prices;

h/ Provisional cost of possible arising work and inflation during the project implementation shall be determined in a percentage (%) of total investment and each specific cost item specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

i/ Cost of management and other costs shall be determined in accordance with law and the characteristics and management organization of projects.

Article 48.Content and determination of cost estimates of projects

1. Cost estimate of a project is all necessary costs for implementing such project determined in the project implementation stage according to the feasibility study report of the project and approved project design; and other tasks that are required to be performed.

2. A cost estimate must include all costs specified in Clause 3, Article 47 of this Decree.

3. A cost estimate shall be determined based on calculation of costs specified in Clause 4, Article 47 of this Decree at the time of cost estimation.

Article 49.Competence to appraise and approve designs and cost estimates of projects

1. For projects managed by ministries and central sectors: The specialized agency managing public investment of such ministry or central sector shall assume the prime responsibility for organizing appraisal of designs and investment cost estimates of projects and submit them to authorities competent to decide on investment in projects (as prescribed in Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment) for approval.

2. For group-A projects and group-B and group-C projects managed by provincial-level People’s Committees: The provincial-level Department of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with a provincial-level specialized management department in, organizing appraisal of designs and cost estimates of projects and submit them to the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson or an agency  decentralized or authorized to decide on investment (prescribed at Point c, Clause 3, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment) for approval.

3. For projects managed by district- or commune-level People’s Committees and group-B and group-C projects decentralized or authorized by provincial-level People’s Committees to district- or commune-level People’s Committees for decision on investment: The specialized agency managing public investment of the district- or commune-level People’s Committee shall assume the prime responsibility for appraising the designs and cost estimates of projects and submit them to the district- or commune-level People’s Committee chairperson for approval.

Article 50.Order and procedures for and time of appraisal of designs and cost estimates of projects

1. The project owner shall send the design dossier and cost estimate with the contents specified in Article 52 of this Decree to the specialized public investment management agency.

2. The specialized public investment management agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, appraising the contents of the design and cost estimate under Article 51 of this Decree. During the appraisal, the agency in charge of appraisal may invite organizations and individuals with relevant expertise and experience to participate in appraising different parts of the design and cost estimate of the project.

3. The time of appraisal of the design and investment cost estimate by a specialized public investment management agency, counting from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, is prescribed as follows:

a/ For group-A projects: 40 days;

b/ For group-B projects: 30 days;

c/ For group-C projects: 20 days.

Article 51.Contents ofappraisal and approval of designs and cost estimates of projects

1. Contents of appraisal of the design and cost estimate of a project are prescribed in Article 47 of this Decree and Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Contents of appraisal of the design and cost estimate of a project include:

a/ General information about the project: project name, project items (specifying the project group); project-managing agency, design contractor; location of investment (if any);

b/ Size, technology, technical specifications and major economic and technical targets of the project;

c/ National technical regulations and major standards to be applied;

d/ Major design solutions of project items and the entire project;

dd/ The cost estimate of project investment;

e/ Requirements on finalization and completion of the design dossier and other contents (if any).

3. The time of appraisal of designs and cost estimates of projects: Authorities competent to decide on investment in projects shall approve cost estimates of such projects, counting from the date of receiving a valid and complete dossier, within:

a/ For group-A projects: 15 working days;

b/ For group-B projects: 10 working days;

c/ For group-C projects: 5 working days.

Article 52.Dossier for appraisal of design and investment cost estimate

1. A written proposal for appraisal of the design.

2. A description of the design and design drawings (if any), relevant survey documents.

3. A copy of the investment policy decision and investment decision of the project enclosed with the approved design dossier.

4. The investor’s general report on the conformity of the design dossier with regulations.

5. The investment cost estimate of the project.

Article 53.Test of projects before operation and use

1. A project may be put into operation and use after it is completely invested after the approved design, operates strictly according to technical requirements and is tested to satisfy quality requirements.

2. Depending on specific conditions of a project, each project item or component project or the entire project completed may be handed over for operation and use.

3. The written record of the handover of each project item, component project or the entire project completed shall be used as the basis for the project-managing agency to put the project into operation and use and finalize investment funds.

4. A project handover dossier must comprise a project completion dossier; an operation and use manual and the maintenance rules of the project.

5. A project investment dossier shall be submitted for archive in accordance with the law on state archives.

Article 54.Completion of project investment

1. Project investment shall be completed when the project-managing agency receives the entire project and the project’s warranty period expires.

2. Before handing over a project, the contractor shall move all of its assets (if any) out of the construction site.

Article 55.Operation of projects

1. After receiving a project, the project-managing agency or organization assigned to manage the use of the project shall effectively operate the project for proper purpose and according to approved economic-technical targets.

2. The project-managing agency or organization assigned to manage the use of the project shall carry out project maintenance and warranty according to regulations.

Chapter V

TASKS AND POWERS OF AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN THE FORMULATION AND APPRAISAL OF, DECISION ON INVESTMENT POLICY ON, AND DECISION ON INVESTMENT IN, PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS, AND IN MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Article 56.Tasks and powers of the Government

1. To perform the uniform state management of the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects.

2. To submit national target programs to the National Assembly for decision on investment policy.

3. To decide on investment policy on target programs prescribed in Clause 2, Article 17 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 57.Tasks and powers of the Prime Minister

1. To issue decisions and directives relating to the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects.

2. To decide on investment policy on, and decide on investment in, programs and projects under Clause 3, Article 17, and Clause 1, Article 39, of the Law on Public Investment.

3. To decide on the setting up of:

a/ The State Appraisal Council to appraise investment policy on and decide on investment in national target programs;

b/ Inter-sectoral appraisal councils to appraise investment policy and decide on investment in target programs and group-A projects as prescribed in the Law on Public Investment.

Article 58.Tasks and powers of the Ministry of Planning and Investment

1. To advise the Government on the uniform state management of the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects; to manage public investment projects without construction components.

2.  To promulgate or assume the prime responsibility for preparing and submitting to competent authorities for promulgation legal documents relating to the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, programs and projects; to manage public investment projects without construction components.

3. To propose the Prime Minister to set up the State Appraisal Council, inter-sectoral appraisal councils or appraisal councils to appraise public investment programs and group-A public investment projects within the investment policy-deciding competence or investment-deciding competence of the National Assembly, the Government or the Prime Minister.

4. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, organizing appraisal of investment policy proposal reports and appraisal of funding sources and fund balancing capability of public investment programs and projects in accordance with the law on public investment.

5. To provide professional guidance and training to raise professional qualifications and skills for cadres, civil servants and public employees of ministries, central sectors and local administrations at all levels in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects.

6. To organize examination, inspection and supervision of the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects of ministries, central sectors and localities.

Article 59.Tasks and powers of the Ministry of Finance

1. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in, guiding other ministries, central agencies and localities in, making cost estimates of non-business and regular expenditures for the spending tasks prescribed in Clauses 1, 3, 4 and 5, Article 15 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. To coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in appraising funding sources and fund balancing capability of programs and projects financed by the central budget, national bonds, government bonds and other public investment funding sources under central management as prescribed by the Law on Public Investment.

Article 60.Tasks and powers of ministries and central sectors

1. To organize the formulation and internal appraisal of:

a/ Prefeasibility study reports, investment policy proposal reports and feasibility study reports of national target programs and target programs under their respective management according to their government-assigned functions and tasks;

b/ Prefeasibility study reports, investment policy proposal reports and feasibility study reports of public investment projects under their respective management.

2. To decide on investment policy on group-B and group-C public investment projects according to their competence prescribed in Clause 4, Article 17 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. To decide on investment in public investment projects under Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment; to decentralize or authorize lower-level agencies to decide on investment in group-B and group-C projects (if necessary) under Point c, Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment.

4. To issue, and guide the implementation of, standards, regulations and economic-technical norms as the basis for formulating prefeasibility study reports, investment policy proposal reports and feasibility study reports of projects within their government-assigned functions and tasks and in accordance with law.

5. To decide on the organization of management of public investment projects without construction components in accordance with the law on public investment and relevant laws.

6. To join the State Appraisal Council for national target programs, inter-sectoral appraisal councils for target programs and group-A projects, or preside over appraisal councils for group-A projects as decided by the Prime Minister.

7. To coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in appraising other programs and projects in accordance with law.

8. To define tasks of specialized public investment management agencies under their respective management in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, decision on investment in, and management of, public investment programs and projects.

9. To guide, examine and supervise the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects, and management of public investment projects within their assigned functions and tasks in accordance with the law on public investment and the law on construction.

Article 61.Tasks and powers of People’s Councils at all levels

1. To decide on investment policy on public investment programs under their respective management prescribed at Point a, Clause 1, Article 91 of the Law on Public Investment.

2. To decide on or authorize their standing bodies to consider, give opinions and decide on investment policy on projects financed by public investment funds under their respective management as prescribed at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 91 of the Law on Public Investment.

3. To supervise the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, programs and projects under local management.

4. Particularly for provincial-level People’s Councils, in addition to the tasks and powers defined in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, to decide on criteria of group-C key projects as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

Article 62.Tasks and powers of People’s Committees at all levels

1. To organize the formulation and appraisal of, and submit to the People’s Councils of the same level for decision on investment policy on, projects under Points a, b and c, Clause 2, Article 92 of the Law on Public Investment, Points a and c, Clause 3, Article 93 of the Law on Public Investment, and the provisions of this Decree.

2. To decide on investment policy on projects under Clause 3, Article 92, and Clause 4, Article 93, of the Law on Public Investment.

3. To decide on investment in public investment programs and projects under Points a and b, Clause 3, and Points a and b, Clause 4, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment; provincial-level and district-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall decentralize or authorize lower-level agencies to decide on investment in group-B and group-C projects under Point c, Clause 3, and Point c, Clause 4, Article 39 of the Law on Public Investment.

4. To decide on the management of public investment projects without construction components under their management in accordance with the law on public investment and relevant laws.

5. To consult agencies, organizations, enterprises and residents on investment policy on and decision on investment in programs and projects in accordance with law.

6. To examine the observance of the law on formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects by lower-level units.

7. Particularly for provincial-level People’s Committees, in addition to the tasks and powers defined in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article, to:

a/ Submit to the provincial-level People’s Councils for submission criteria of group-C key projects of their localities;

b/ Define the tasks of provincial-level departments and sectors and regulations on coordination among local sectors and levels in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects under local management;

c/ Coordinate with ministries and central sectors in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, public investment programs and projects under the management of ministries and central sectors in their localities upon request.

Article 63.Tasks and powers of the Vietnam Fatherland Front

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels shall perform the tasks and exercise the powers of community-based supervision as prescribed in Article 95 of the Law on Public Investment.

Article 64.Tasks and powers of provincial-level Departments of Planning and Investment

1. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, advising and submitting to provincial-level People’s Committees:

a/ Criteria of group-C key projects under local management;

b/ Regulations on coordination among local sectors and levels in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, programs and projects under local management;

c/ Investment policy proposal reports for target programs under local management in accordance with the Law on Public Investment;

d/ Investment policy proposal reports and investment decisions on projects under provincial-level management;

dd/ Regulations relating to management of public investment projects without construction components.

2. To act as the standing body of the appraisal council for prefeasibility study reports and investment policy proposal reports of programs and projects under provincial-level management and prepare opinions for provincial-level People’s Committees to report to competent authorities for decision on investment policy on locally managed projects financed by the central budget.

3. To act as the standing body of the appraisal council for or take charge of appraisal and approval of investment decisions, designs and cost estimates of public investment projects without construction components under provincial-level management and other projects as assigned by provincial-level People’s Committees.

4. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the provincial-level Department of Finance in, appraising funding sources and fund balancing capability of projects financed by the balanced funds of local budgets, municipal bonds and retained revenues for investment but not yet included in the local budget balances.

5. To organize the work of formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment policy on, programs and projects, and decision on investment in, public investment projects without construction components and provide guidance on this work for provincial-level departments and sectors and district- and commune-level authorities.

Article 65.The State Appraisal Council and inter-sectoral appraisal councils

1. The State Appraisal Council set up under decision of the Prime Minister shall:

a/ Appraise investment policy proposal reports of national target programs. After the program-managing agencies finalize and submit these reports, summarize and report them to the Prime Minister or the Government for submission to the National Assembly for decision on investment policy;

b/ Appraise feasibility study reports of national target programs. After the program- managing agencies finalize and submit these reports, summarize and report them to the Prime Minister for investment decision.

2. The inter-sectoral appraisal council set up under decision of the Prime Minister shall:

a/ Appraise investment policy proposal reports of target programs for program-managing agencies to finalize and submit them to the Prime Minister for reporting to the Government for decision on investment policy;

b/ Appraise prefeasibility study reports of group-A projects for ministries, central sectors and localities to finalize and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on investment policy.

3.  The State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council shall be composed of the council president, vice president and other members. The president of the State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council must be the Minister of Planning and Investment; the vice president and other members of the council must be representatives of the leaderships of ministries, central sectors and related agencies as decided by the Prime Minister at the proposal of the council president.

4. The State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council shall work on a collegial regime under the chairmanship of the council president.

5. The president and members of the State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council shall take responsibility before the Prime Minister for organizing appraisal and assigned appraisal activities, assessment opinions, and appraisal conclusions and recommendations related to programs and projects.

6. The State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council shall automatically dissolve after fulfilling appraisal work under regulations.

Article 66.Responsibilities of the president, vice president and members of the State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council

1. Responsibilities of the president of the State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council:

a/ To approve the working regulations and work programs and plans of the council and other related issues in the course of appraisal of programs or projects after they are voted for by the council; to decide to convene meetings of the council; to preside over meetings of the council; to assign responsibilities to the vice president and members of the council;

b/ To decide to form an inter-sectoral appraisal specialists’ team or assisting team of the council, depending on the work requirements;

c/ When necessary, to authorize the vice president to convene and preside over meetings of the council or to report to the Government some contents or work assigned by the council president;

d/ To decide on the hire and selection of consultants to participate in the appraisal of programs or group-A projects (if necessary);

2. Responsibilities of the vice president of the State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council:

a/ To direct, urge and perform the tasks of the council as assigned by the president. To regularly report the performance of tasks assigned by the president;

b/ To assist the president in considering and evaluating professional reports and other activities of the council for submission to the Prime Minister.

3. Responsibilities of members of the State Appraisal Council or inter-sectoral appraisal council:

a/ To give opinions on contents of appraisal of programs or projects within the functions and tasks of ministries, central sectors or localities under their assigned charge and general matters of programs or projects;

b/ To mobilize manpower, working facilities and research institutions under their management to fulfill their assigned tasks;

c/ To attend all meetings of the council, contribute and exchange opinions on contents of appraisal and vote on conclusions of the council when necessary. If unable to attend in person a meeting for a special reason, to give written opinions and authorize a representative to attend the meeting. Opinions of the authorized representative are those of the absent member.

Article 67.Rights and responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals involved in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, programs and projects

The rights and responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals involved in the formulation and appraisal of, decision on investment policy on, and decision on investment in, programs and projects must comply with Articles 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 and 101 of the Law on Public Investment.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 68.Transitional provisions

1. Handling of programs and projects already decided by competent authorities before the date the Law on Public Investment takes effect but not yet allocated funds:

a/ The handling of these programs and projects must comply with Clause 1, Article 106 of the Law on Public Investment;

b/ For projects already allocated funds by competent authorities under public investment plans of 2015 and previous years, they shall be implemented according to fund allocation plans and are not required to be formulated and appraised and have their investment policy decided in accordance with the Law on Public Investment;

c/ For projects that have not yet been allocated funds by the end of the plan year 2015 but had their funding sources and fund balancing capability appraised and their specific public investment funds approved before January 1, 2015, they are not required to have their funding sources and fund balancing capability re-appraised but shall be formulated and appraised and have their investment policy decided in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and this Decree with the funds of which the funding sources and fund balancing capability have been appraised by competent authorities.

For projects with their approved investment policy being the same as their investment decision already approved before the Law on Public Investment takes effect, competent authorities shall allocate medium-term and annual public investment funds to these projects according to the approved investment decision.

For projects with their approved investment policy different from their investment decision previously approved, competent authorities shall re-approve their investment decision according to their approved investment policy. The Prime Minister and provincial-level People’s Committees shall only assign medium-term and annual public investment plans to these projects according to their re-approved investment decision.

2. For projects with approved investment decisions financed by non-public investment funds, if they are shifted to be financed by public investment funds from the 2016 plan, their funding sources and fund balancing capability shall be appraised, their investment policy decided and their investment decision re-approved in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and relevant laws.

3. For projects in which investment has not yet been decided by competent authorities before the date the Law on Public Investment takes effect:

a/ They shall be formulated and appraised and their investment policy and investment decided in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and this Decree. Particularly for projects with their specific investment funds already approved by the Prime Minister or their funding sources and fund balancing capability appraised or specific investment funds approved by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, their funding sources and fund balancing capability are not required to be re-appraised (if it is unnecessary to increase their total investment);

b/ Projects that have their investment policy decided not according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Public Investment shall be formulated and appraised and have their investment policy and investment decided in accordance with the Law on Public Investment;

c/ Projects that have been allocated public investment funds in the 2015 plan but have not yet had their investment decisions approved shall be formulated and appraised and have their investment policy and investment decided in accordance with the Law on Public Investment.

4. Districts and wards in the period of pilot non-organization of People’s Councils shall be regarded as state budget-financed units of higher-level People’s Committees. The formulation, appraisal and investment policy decision must comply with regulations of higher-level People’s Committees.

Article 69.Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect on February 15, 2016. All previous regulations contrary to this Decree shall be annulled.

2. The Minister of Planning and Investment shall guide the implementation of this Decree (if necessary).

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of other central agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and heads of related agencies and units shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG

APPENDIX I

CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA FOR PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROJECTS

(To the Government’s Decree No. 136/2015/ND-CP of
December 31, 2015)

APPENDIX II

FORMS OF PREFEASIBILITY STUDY REPORT AND INVESTMENT POLICY PROPOSAL REPORT OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

(To the Government’s Decree No. 136/2015/ND-CP of
December 31, 2015)

THE END