Decree No. 66/2020/ND-CP amending the Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP of May 25, 2017, on management and development of industrial clusters^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 24, 2017 Planning Law;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 751/2019/UBTVQH14 of August 16, 2019, of the National Assembly Standing Committee, on interpretation of a number of articles of the Planning Law;

At the proposal of the Minister of Industry and Trade;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP of May 25, 2017, on management and development of industrial clusters.

Article 1.Toamend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP of May 25, 2017, on management and development of industrial clusters

1. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 1 as follows:

“Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Decree prescribes plans on development of industrial clusters; establishment and expansion of industrial clusters; investment in the construction of technical infrastructure and production and business in industrial clusters; policies on incentives and supports for development of industrial clusters, and state management of industrial clusters.”

2. To amend and supplement Clause 11, Article 2 as follows:

“Article 2.Interpretation of terms

11. Plan on development of industrial clusters means the arrangement and distribution of space for rational development of industrial clusters in association with policies and solutions for management, and investment in the construction of technical infrastructure in a provincial-level locality in each period,while ensuringenvironmental protection, and thrifty and efficient use of land and other resources of such locality.

A plan on development of industrial clusters constitutes a content of a provincial master plan, which shall be formulated and incorporated into the provincial master plan under the planning law.”

3. To amend and supplement Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Plans on development of industrial clusters

1. Grounds for formulation of a plan on development of industrial clusters:

a/ The Strategy for Vietnam’s industrial development, strategies on development of priority industries and industrial sectors in the locality;

b/ Orientations for socio-economic development, regional master plans and technical and specialized master plans in the locality;

c/ Demand for ground area for attraction of investment from, and relocation of, organizations and individuals in the locality in production and business activities in industrial clusters;

d/ Capability to mobilize investment funding sources from enterprises and the State and other lawful funding sources for investment in the construction of technical infrastructure facilities in industrial clusters in the locality;

dd/ Requirements for environmental protection, and thrifty and efficient use of land and other resources of the locality.

2. Major contents of a plan on development of industrial clusters:

a/ Legal grounds for and necessity of formulating the plan on development of industrial clusters;

b/ Assessment of the fulfillment of objectives and contents of the Strategy on Vietnam’s industrial development, and strategies on development of priority industries and industrial sectors in a locality; projected objectives and needs of development of key and priority industries and industrial sectors and forecastedadvantagesand disadvantages to the development of industrial clusters in the planning period; forecast needs for ground area of investors in industrial clusters;

c/ Assessment of actual state, progress of the construction, and effectiveness of investment in technical infrastructure of industrial clusters in the locality; attraction of investment, occupancy rate and management of industrial clusters; production and business situation, environmental protection, measures to address environmental issues, and socio-economic benefits of each industrial cluster; achievements, weaknesses and causes;

d/ Development of scenarios for developing industrial clusters in the locality; each scenario must have explanations about each industrial cluster, such as name, location, land area and status of the industrial cluster, on the principle of restricting the use of land areas planned for rice cultivation, protection forests and special-use forests; sectors and trades in the industrial cluster (orientations on connectible sectors and trades in the same value chain of products and services); explanations about grounds for adjustment of the plan on development of industrial clusters; solutions to attract investment, and schedule of establishment, investment in infrastructure, and occupancy in the industrial cluster and job creation for workers in the locality; assessment of connectivity of the industrial cluster with social-economic infrastructure outside industrial cluster as well as advantages and disadvantages;

dd/ Assessment of advantages and disadvantages of scenarios for development of industrial clusters; proposal of an optimal scenario as a development plan, enclosed with a list of industrial clusters to be developed, which shall be shown on a map, indicating the name, location and area of, and sectors and trades in, the industrial cluster, and schedule of investment in technical infrastructure;

e/ Solutions to mobilize funding sources for investment in infrastructure, and mechanisms and policies to support the development of industrial clusters; solutions to assess the environmental status and address environmental issues, forecast environmental impacts and measures to remedy environmental pollution caused by industrial clusters, especially those already established and operating in the locality, and organization of implementation of the plan.

3. Funds for formulation and the period of a plan on development of industrial clusters must comply with regulations on provincial master plans.”

4. To amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Formulation and integration of plans on development of industrial clusters into provincial master plans

1. Provincial-level Departments of Industry and Trade shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with provincial-level departments, sectors, district-level People’s Committees and related units in, formulating and finalizing plans on development of industrial clusters in their localities under Article 5; and submit reports on plans on development of industrial clusters to provincial-level People’s Committees.

2. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall direct provincial-level master plan-formulating agencies toincorporate plans on development of industrial clusters in provincial master plans, and collect opinions on provincial master plans (including plans on development of industrial clusters) in accordance with the planning law in order to finalize and submit them to competent agencies for approval.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall give opinions on whether plans on development of industrial clusters comply with regulations and satisfy conditions stated in provincial master plans.

3. A decision on approval of a provincial master plan must show a plan on development of industrial clusters, enclosed with a list of industrial clusters to be developed, showing the name, location and area of, and sectors and trades in, the industrial cluster, and schedule of investment in technical infrastructure; implementation solutions and other relevant contents (if any).”

5. To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7. Grounds for adjustment of a plan on development of industrial clusters

1. There are adjustments to the Strategy for Vietnam’s industrial development or strategies on development of priority industries and industrial sectors in a locality; or to regional master plans, provincial master plans and other technical and specialized master plans in a locality;

2. Land areas for development of industrial clusters are adjusted to meet organizations’ or individuals’ demand for renting land for production and business in conformity with efficiency of investment in infrastructure construction and lease capability of industrial clusters in a district-level locality.

3. The project owner for construction of the industrial cluster’s technical infrastructure shall be identified; if wishing to exclude an industrial cluster from the plan on development of industrial clusters, it is required to identify the plan on conversion of the industrial cluster.”

6. To amend and supplement Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Contents of a report on the adjustment of a plan on development of industrial clusters

1. Legal grounds, necessity and explanations about grounds for adjustment of the plan on development of industrial clusters.

2. Assessment of schedule and efficiency of investment in technical infrastructure and attraction of investment and occupancy rate in industrial clusters in the locality; production and business situation, socio-economic benefits, environmental protection and measures to address environmental issues of the industrial cluster; achievements, weaknesses and causes.

3. Assessment and estimation of ground area for attraction of investment in and relocation into industrial clusters, land use status, investment funding sources, schedule of investment in infrastructure, connectivity with the outside infrastructure, legal person status and capacity of the project owner, forecast of environmental impacts, measures to address environmental issues and management of the industrial clusters to be added to the plan on development of industrial clusters; assessment of the current state and effectiveness of investment in the construction of technical infrastructure, objectives, contents, schedule and feasibility of the plan on conversion of the industrial cluster projected to be excluded from the plan on development of industrial clusters.

4. Proposal of adjustment of the plan on development of industrial clusters, enclosed with the list of industrial clusters, showing the name, location and area of each industrial cluster, and sectors and trades in the industrial cluster; expected project owner, schedule of investment in technical infrastructure and attraction for occupancy in industrial clusters.

5. Implementation solutions.”

7. To amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Formulation and incorporation of an adjusted plan on development of industrial clusters in an adjusted provincial master plan

1. The district-level People’s Committee shall submit a written proposal of adjustments to the plan on development of industrial clusters in the locality to the provincial-level Department of Industry and Trade.

2. The provincial-level Department of Industry and Trade shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related provincial-level departments, sectors and units in, finalizing a report on adjustments of the plan on development of industrial clusters in the locality under Articles 7 and Article 8; and send a report on the adjustments to the provincial-level People’s Committee.

3. The provincial-level People’s Committee shall direct the provincial-level master plan-formulating agency tointegrate the adjusted plan on development of industrial clusters into the adjusted provincial master plan, and collect opinions on the adjusted provincial master plan (including the adjusted plan on development of industrial clusters) in accordance with the planning law in order to finalize and submit the adjustments to a competent agency for approval.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall give opinions on whether the adjusted plans on development of industrial clusters comply with regulations and satisfy conditions stated in provincial master plans.

4. For small and frequent adjustments regarding the name, location and area of the industrial cluster, and sectors and trades in the industrial cluster, schedule of investment in technical infrastructure and other contents of the industrial cluster which cause no change in objectives or nature or no increase in land use area of the plan on development of industrial clusters as specified in the approved provincial master plan or approved land areas for development of industrial clusters, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall send a written request to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for agreeing with such adjustments, then update and include adjusted contents in the provincial master plan and report them to the Prime Minister in the period of formulation and approval of provincial master plans.

5. A decision on approval of adjustment of a provincial master plan must state adjustments to the plan on development of industrial clusters, enclosed with a list of industrial clusters to be developed, showing the name, location and area of each industrial cluster, sectors and trades in the industrial cluster, schedule of investment in technical infrastructure, implementation solutions and other relevant contents (if any).”

8. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1, Articles 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Conditions for establishment and expansion of industrial clusters

1. Conditions for establishment of an industrial cluster:

a/ The industrial cluster is stated in the plan on development of industrial clusters which is included in the approved provincial master plan;”

9. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15. Project owners in construction of industrial cluster technical infrastructure

3. It is encouraged to prioritize the selection of enterprises and cooperatives to act as project owners in the construction of industrial cluster technical infrastructure if their dossiers of request for establishment or expansion of industrial clusters comply with this Decree.

When carrying out the appraisal specified in Clause 3, Article 12, the provincial-level Department of Industry and Trade shall propose the provincial-level People’s Committee to establish a Council for appraisal and selection of project owners (with its chairperson being a leader of the provincial-level People’s Committee, its deputy chairperson being a leader of the provincial-level Department of Industry and Trade, and its members being representatives of a number of related provincial-level departments and agencies). The Council shall carry out evaluation using a 100-point grading scale with the following criteria: plan on investment in the construction of technical infrastructure (15 points at most); plan on management and protection of the environment in the industrial cluster (15 points at most); capacity and experience of the enterprise or cooperative (30 points at most); and financial plan for investment in the construction of technical infrastructure (40 points at most).

The provincial-level People’s Committee shall consider and decide to assign an enterprise or a cooperative having scored 50 points or more to act as the project owner for construction of technical infrastructure of an industrial cluster in a decision on the establishment or expansion of the industrial cluster (in case there are two or more enterprises or cooperatives wishing to act as the project owner in the construction of technical infrastructure of an industrial cluster, the one having scored the highest point shall be assigned to act as the project owner). In case the project owner fails to implement the project on construction of technical infrastructure after 12 months from the date of establishment or expansion of the industrial cluster or stops the project or delays the implementation of the project by 12 months compared to the schedule stated in the decision on the establishment or expansion of the industrial cluster, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall consider extending the project or select another project owner.

For investment projects on construction of industrial cluster technical infrastructure in the form of public-private partnership, their owners shall be selected in accordance with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership. The time for selection of the project owner under the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership will not be included in the period of appraisal for the establishment or expansion of an industrial cluster.”

10. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 35 as follows:

“Article 35. Powers and responsibilities of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

1. To formulate and promulgate or propose competent agencies to promulgate programs, plans, mechanisms, policies, laws and certificates related to industrial clusters; to give opinions on whether plans on development of industrial clusters comply with regulations and satisfy prescribed conditions.”

11. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Articles 42 as follows:

“Article 42. Powers and responsibilities of provincial-level People’s Committees

1. To direct the formulation and integration of plans on development of industrial clusters into provincial master plans, and collection of opinions on such plans under regulations in order to finalize and submit them to competent agencies for approval; to decide on establishment or expansion of industrial clusters, mechanisms, policies and activity plans on development of industrial clusters; to submit to provincial-level People’s Councils programs on support for investment in industrial cluster technical infrastructure funded with local budgets (with priority given to allocating funds for construction and completion of infrastructure facilities for environmental protection in operating industrial clusters).

2. To promulgate regulations on management of industrial clusters, settlement of procedures for implementing investment projects on technical infrastructure construction and projects on production and business in industrial clusters under the single-window or inter-agency single-window mechanism; based on the local conditions, to decentralize provincial-level Departments of Industry and Trade or district-level People’s Committees to assume the prime responsibility for settling procedures for investment in technical infrastructure construction and production and business in industrial clusters prescribed in Clause 2, Article 43 and Clause 3, Article 44.”

Article 2.Replacement of words and phrases

1. To replace the phrase “master plan” in the title of Chapter II with the phrase “development plan” and in the title of Section 1, Chapter II with the word “plan”.

2. To replace the phrase “master plan” in Article 4, Clause 1, Article 33, and Clauses 1 and 3, Article 43 with the phrase “development plan”; and in Clause 1, Article 44 with the phrase “formulation of development plans”; the phrase “agreed master plan” in Clause 4, Article 12 with the phrase “plan on development of industrial clusters included in the approved provincial master plan”; and the phrase “master plan” in Clause 1, Article 31 and Clause 5, Article 35 with the phrase “plan on development of industrial clusters”.

Article 3.Transitional provision

Master plans on development of industrial clusters in provincial-level localities which are approved before January 1, 2019, may be adjusted and supplemented under the provisions on the management of master plans on development of industrial clusters of the Government’s Decree No. 68/2017/ND-CP until the provincial master plans are approved under the planning law.

Article 4.Effect and implementation responsibility

1. This Decree takes effect on August 1, 2020.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC