Law on Construction 2025, No. 135/2025/QH15

LAW

On Construction^[1]

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law on Construction.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law provides construction activities; rights, obligations and responsibilities of agencies, organisations and individuals in construction activities, and state management of construction.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Law applies to domestic agencies, organisations and individuals; and foreign organisations and individuals carrying out construction activities in the territory of Vietnam.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Construction activities include the formulation, verification, appraisal and approval of construction investment projects and construction designs; construction survey; management of construction licensing; execution of construction of works and supervision of execution of construction of works; management of construction investment projects; management of matters related to construction activity capacity; management of construction investment costs; management of construction contracts; acceptance testing, handover and commissioning of construction works; account-finalization of investment capital; warranty and maintenance of construction works; and other activities related to construction works.

2. Construction work means a product constructed according to a design, created by human labour, building materials, and equipment installed in the work, and fixed to land, which may include underground, above-ground, underwater and above-water components.

3. Technical infrastructure system consists of transport, telecommunications, energy supply, public lighting, water supply, water drainage, and solid waste collection and treatment works, cemeteries, and other technical infrastructure works.

4. Social infrastructure system consists of medical, cultural, educational, sports, commercial and service works, parks, and other works serving public purposes.

5. Investment decision-maker means an individual or the representative of an agency, organisation or enterprise who has the competence to approve projects and decide on construction investment in accordance with law.

6. Construction investment project means a collection of proposals related to the use of capital to carry out construction activities for building new works, or upgrading, expanding, repairing, renovating or relocating existing works in order to maintain, develop, or improve the quality of, works or products and services within a specified period and with specified costs.

7. Urban area construction investment project means an investment project for building a new urban area or renovating or embellishing an existing urban area, ensuring the synchronisation of the technical infrastructure system and the social infrastructure system with the housing system in accordance with urban and rural master plans approved by competent authorities.

8. Construction consultancy activities include the formulation of work construction investment projects, survey, construction design, verification, inspection, testing, cost management, project management, execution supervision, and other consultancy jobs related to construction activities.

9. Formulation of a construction investment project covers the preparation of a prefeasibility study report, an investment policy proposal report or a project proposal to serve investment policy decision or approval; and the preparation of a feasibility study report on construction investment (below referred to as feasibility study report) or a techno-economic report on construction investment (below referred to as techno-economic report) to serve investment decision-making and performance of necessary jobs for construction investment preparation.

10. Preliminary design means a design expressing design ideas for the construction of a work, a technological line or an equipment.

11. Basic design means a design showing main technical specifications in conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards.

12. Front-end engineering design (FEED) means a design prepared for a project with a technological design in order to concretise requirements on technological options and technical specifications of technological equipment, which must show main solutions, technical specifications and materials used in conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards.

13. Engineering design means a design fully showing solutions, technical specifications and materials used in conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards.

14. Working drawing design means a design fully showing technical specifications, materials used and structural details in conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards, ensuring the satisfaction of all conditions for executing the construction of a work.

15. Verification means the examination, assessment and conclusion by an organisation or individual in respect of necessary professional matters during the preparation and implementation of a construction investment project at the request of the investment decision-maker, project owner or specialised agency in charge of construction.

16. Appraisal means the examination and assessment by the investment decision-maker, project owner, specialised agency in charge of construction or appraisal council in respect of necessary matters during the preparation and implementation of a construction investment project for the competent agency, organisation or person to consider and decide on construction investment and approve the construction design.

17. State management agencies in charge of construction include the Ministry of Construction, People’s Committees of provinces and cities (below referred to as provincial-level People’s Committees) and People’s Committees of communes, wards and special zones (below referred to as commune-level People’s Committees).

18. Ministries managing specialised construction works means the ministries assigned to manage construction investment for works in the construction specialties under their management in accordance with this Law. These ministries include the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Ministry of Construction.

19. Specialised agencies in charge of construction means specialised agencies assigned to perform the construction management under the ministries managing specialised construction works, provincial-level People’s Committees or commune-level People’s Committees; Management Boards of industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech parks or economic zones; and other agencies as specified by the Government.

20. Specialised agency under the investment decision-maker means an agency or organisation possessing expertise appropriate to the nature and content of a project and assigned the appraisal task by the investment decision-maker.

21. Construction permit means a document issued by a competent agency to the project owner for the construction of a work, or for the repair, renovation or relocation of an existing work.

22. Work construction execution means the construction of, and installation of engineering equipment and technological equipment to, a construction work; or the demolition of a construction work.

23. Engineering equipment means equipment installed to a construction work according to the work’s construction design.

24. Technological equipment means equipment included in a technological line and installed to a construction work according to its technological design.

25. Contractor in construction activities (below referred to as contractor) means an organisation, an individual, or a joint-name entity of organisations and individuals participating in construction activities under a construction contract.

26. Principal contractor in construction activities (below referred to as principal contractor) means a contractor that enters into a construction contract directly with the project owner.

27. Subcontractor in construction activities (below referred to as subcontractor) means a contractor that enters into a construction contract with the principal contractor.

28. Foreign contractor means an organisation established under foreign law or a foreign national that enters into, and manages the performance of, a construction contract in Vietnam. A foreign contractor may be either a principal contractor or a subcontractor.

29. Construction work incident means damage exceeding the permissible safety limit, making a construction work or an auxiliary structure used for work construction execution be at risk of collapse, or causing partial or whole collapse of such construction work or auxiliary structure during construction execution or operation/use.

30. Dangerous zone in work construction execution means boundaries of areas within and around a construction site where possible dangerous factors are likely to cause damage to people, construction works, assets, equipment or vehicles during work construction execution, which shall be determined according to applicable technical regulations or standards and work construction execution organisation measures.

Article 4. Application of the Law on Construction and relevant laws

1. Construction activities carried out in the territory of Vietnam must comply with the Law on Construction.

2. For construction contract-related matters not specified in this Law, the provisions on contracts of the Law on Bidding, the Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership and the Civil Code shall apply.

3. In case this Law contains provisions different from those of the Law on Investment regarding construction investment projects implemented according to special investment procedures, the Law on Investment shall prevail.

4. In case this Law contains provisions different from those of the Law on Railways regarding investment projects on construction of national railways or local railways, the Law on Railways shall prevail.

5. In case a law or resolution of the National Assembly that is promulgated after the effective date of this Law needs to provide construction activities differently from those provided in this Law, it must clearly specify which contents comply and which contents do not comply with the Law on Construction.

Article 5. Fundamental principles in construction activities

1. Ensuring that construction is carried out according to master plans and designs while protecting landscapes and the environment; is suitable to natural and social conditions and cultural and historical characteristics of localities; guarantees the stability of the People’s lives; and combines socio-economic development with national defence, security and climate change response.

2. Rationally using resources and natural resources in project areas for the proper purposes and the right beneficiaries and according to construction investment procedures.

3. Conforming to applicable technical regulations and standards in construction activities.

4. Ensuring safety, quality, and human life and health, and avoiding causing damage to assets of other organisations and individuals; ensuring compliance with regulations on fire protection and environmental protection.

5. Ensuring synchronised construction of each work and synchronisation with the technical infrastructure system and the social infrastructure system.

6. Ensuring publicity, transparency and efficiency; and preventing and combating corruption, waste and negative practices in construction activities.

7. Clearly distinguishing the function of state management of construction from the function of management by investment decision-makers and project owners as appropriate to each form of investment.

Article 6. Types and grades of construction works

1. Types of construction works shall be determined based on their structural characteristics and intended uses.

2. Grades of construction works shall be determined for each type of works, specifically as follows:

a/ Grades of construction works serving the management of construction activities as specified in this Law shall be determined based on the scale, importance and technical specifications of the works, including: special grade, grade I, grade II, grade III and grade IV, except the case specified in Point b of this Clause.

The Minister of Construction shall detail this Point;

b/ Grades of construction works serving the formulation of work construction designs shall be stated in applicable technical regulations or standards. Grades of works serving the management of other matters must comply with other relevant laws.

Article 7. Standards, technical regulations, application of science, technology and digital transformation in construction activities

1. Standards in construction activities shall be applied on a voluntary basis, except standards referred to in technical regulations or other normative documents and relevant regulations.

2. Standards applicable to construction investment projects and construction works shall be considered and approved by investment decision-makers or project owners according to construction investment procedures, ensuring satisfaction of the following requirements:

a/ Complying with national technical regulations and relevant legal provisions;

b/ Ensuring compatibility and feasibility of the applicable standards.

3. The research and application of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation in construction activities must meet the following requirements:

a/ Ensuring advanced and modern technologies, environmental protection and sustainable development;

b/ Applying information technology, digital transformation, innovation and building information modelling in construction activities in order to improve the efficiency of construction investment management.

4. Ministries managing specialised construction works shall formulate and update national technical regulations and standards applicable to specialised construction works in accordance with the law on standards and technical regulations, ensuring suitability with practical conditions and science and technology development trends.

Article 8. Building materials

1. The development, production and use of building materials must ensure safety, efficiency, environmental friendliness and rational use of natural resources.

2. Materials and components used for construction works must comply with the approved construction designs and technical instructions (if any), and meet quality requirements in accordance with the law on standards and technical regulations and the law on product and goods quality.

3. Building materials used for the manufacturing, fabrication and processing of semi-finished products must comply with Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. Priority shall be given to the use of available local building materials to ensure investment efficiency; domestically manufactured or fabricated building materials and construction products; and products with a high localisation rate.

Article 9. Project owners

1. For a public investment project, the project owner is the construction investment project management unit under the investment decision-maker or an agency/organisation assigned by the investment decision-maker to organise and manage the construction investment project. The assigned agency/organisation must satisfy the conditions for acting as a project owner under the Government’s regulations.

2. For an investment project in the form of public-private partnership (below referred to as PPP project):

a/ The project owner is the PPP project enterprise;

b/ In case no PPP project enterprise is established, the project owner is an investor selected in accordance with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

3. For a construction investment project regulated by the law on investment that requires investor selection or investment registration, the project owner is an investor selected or approved in accordance with the law on investment, the law on bidding or the land law, or relevant regulations.

4. For projects not falling into the cases specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, project owners are organisations or individuals that invest capital or are assigned to organise, manage and use capital for construction investment.

Article 10. Insurance in construction activities

1. Compulsory insurance in construction activities:

a/ Engineering insurance during the construction period shall be purchased by project owners, applicable to works that have great impacts on public safety and interests; construction works with a high risk of causing adverse environmental impacts or with a risk of causing adverse environmental impacts as specified by the law on environmental protection; and large-scale, technically complex works. Project owners may assign contractors to purchase engineering insurance during the construction period;

b/ Professional liability insurance for construction consultancy shall be purchased by consultancy contractors, applicable to construction survey and construction design jobs of construction works of grade II or higher grade;

c/ Insurance for workers on construction sites and civil liability insurance for third parties shall be purchased by construction execution contractors.

2. Project owners, consultancy contractors and construction execution contractors are encouraged to purchase other types of insurance in construction activities in addition to the types of compulsory insurance specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The Government shall provide in detail insurance conditions, premium rates and minimum sums insured for the types of compulsory insurance specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 11. Incentive policies in construction activities

1. It is promoted to carry out construction activities that aim at conserving, embellishing, and promoting the values of, historical-cultural relics and scenic places; and building social housing; and construction activities under master plans in mountainous areas, islands, areas with difficult or extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, and areas adversely affected by climate change.

2. Subjects from all economic sectors participating in construction activities shall be encouraged and assisted in carrying out construction activities.

3. Certain public services currently provided by state management agencies in construction activities shall be gradually transferred to socio-professional organisations that have sufficient capacity and conditions.

4. The State shall adopt mechanisms and policies to promote, and provide incentives for, the research, development investment and use of new building materials, recycled materials, green materials, lightweight materials, smart materials, environmentally friendly materials, and materials suitable to coastal areas and islands, ensuring sustainable development and national defence and security maintenance; activities relating to the construction and certification of green buildings, smart buildings, and energy- and resource-efficient buildings that meet environmental protection requirements; and development of smart cities, urban green growth, climate change adaptation and sustainable development.

5. The research and application of techniques, construction technologies, science and technology and innovation in construction activities are promoted.

Article 12. International cooperation in construction activities

1. Domestic organisations and individuals are encouraged to expand international cooperation in construction activities, transfer technologies, techniques and management experience, and use new materials.

2. The State shall facilitate and support the conclusion and implementation of treaties and international agreements in construction activities between domestic organisations and individuals and foreign organisations and individuals, on the basis of adhering to the fundamental principles in construction activities; and shall protect Vietnamese construction brands abroad in accordance with law.

3. International cooperation in construction activities must ensure security, sovereignty, and compliance with Vietnam’s law.

Article 13. Force majeure events and fundamental changes of circumstances in construction activities

1. Force majeure events in construction activities include:

a/ Disasters and environmental catastrophes;

b/ Fires and epidemics;

c/ State of emergency relating to national security or social order and safety, and state of emergency relating to national defence;

d/ Strikes, work stoppages, embargoes and blockades;

dd/ Activities involving the discovery of antiquities and archaeological works;

e/ Other cases specified by relevant laws.

2. Fundamental changes of circumstances in construction activities include:

a/ Changes in the State’s policies or laws;

b/ Unforeseeable abnormal geological conditions;

c/ Other cases specified by relevant laws.

3. The determination of the events and circumstances specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall be based on the conditions specified by the civil law regarding force majeure events and the performance of contracts upon fundamental changes of circumstances.

Article 14. Establishment of the Information System and the National Database on Construction Activities

1. The National Database on Construction Activities is a platform for performance of digital transformation activities in the management of construction activities. Data and information in the National Database on Construction Activities serve as primary reference data serving lookup and use purposes to carry out procedures for urban and rural planning activities; construction activities; formulation, promulgation, review and updating of construction norms, construction prices and construction price indices; formulation and promulgation of national technical regulations under the management by the Ministry of Construction; and other procedures and activities related to construction investment in accordance with law.

2. The Information System and the National Database on Construction Activities shall be established in the course of carrying out administrative procedures for the construction activities specified in Clause 1 of this Article and regularly updated, ensuring synchronous connection with the national databases on land and planning and other relevant national databases and specialised databases, to serve the management and governance work; and meet requirements on publicity, transparency and the right to access information of agencies, organisations and citizens.

3. The Government shall provide in detail the establishment, management, operation, exploitation and use of the Information System and the National Database on Construction Activities.

Article 15. Prohibited acts

1. Constructing works in areas where construction is prohibited under this Law or other relevant laws.

2. Constructing works that are not conformable with technical regulations or standards selected for application.

3. Commencing the construction of works without satisfying the conditions for construction commencement specified in this Law.

4. Producing or using building materials that do not meet quality requirements, causing harm to public health and the environment.

5. Violating regulations on occupational safety, assets, fire protection, security, social order and environmental protection in construction activities.

6. Using works not for their proper purposes and intended uses, unless permitted by competent agencies; building extensions in, encroaching upon areas or spaces lawfully managed or used by other organisations or individuals or spaces of public areas or shared-use areas.

7. Giving or taking bribes in construction activities; taking advantage of other individuals or legal persons to participate in construction activities; making arrangements or colluding with others to falsify results of project formulation, survey, design or construction execution supervision.

8. Abusing one’s positions or powers to violate the construction law; covering up, or delaying the handling of, violations of the construction law.

9. Obstructing lawful construction activities.

10. Arbitrarily altering appraised or approved construction designs in a manner that adversely affects construction safety, the environment or fire protection.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Section 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 16. Sequence of construction investment

1. The sequence of construction investment of a project consists of the following stages: project preparation, project implementation and construction completion.

2. A project may be invested in phases or divided into component projects; independent component projects; or independent projects for compensation, support, resettlement and ground clearance (if any) for management and implementation organisation.

3. Depending on the nature and requirements of a project, the phasing of investment in or division of the project under Clause 2 of this Article shall be decided by the competent authority when deciding on or approving investment policy or when preparing the feasibility study report or the techno-economic report.

Article 17. Classification of construction investment projects

1. Construction investment projects classified by investment form include:

a/ Public investment projects;

b/ PPP projects;

c/ Projects using recurrent expenditures from the state budget or other state budget funds not regulated by the law on public investment, which must comply with this Law’s provisions applicable to public investment projects;

d/ Construction investment projects regulated by the law on investment, and construction investment projects other than those specified in Points a, b and c of this Clause (below referred to as business investment projects).

2. Construction investment projects classified by scale and level of importance include:

a/ National important projects; projects subject to the National Assembly’s investment policy decision or approval;

b/ Group-A projects, group-B projects and group-C projects identified based on the criteria specified by the law on public investment.

3. Construction investment projects classified by purpose and service function.

4. The Government shall detail Clause 3 of this Article and provide in detail the classification of projects for management of construction activities, for projects using official development assistance and concessional loans of foreign donors.

Article 18. Requirements for construction investment projects

1. A construction investment project must satisfy the following requirements:

a/ Being conformable with the master plan used as a basis for project formulation (if any), except projects involving renovation or maintenance of construction works or projects involving repair or renovation that do not change objectives, scale or existing functions of construction works;

b/ Ensuring feasibility of construction design solutions and technological designs (if any);

c/ Meeting requirements on safety in construction, operation, exploitation and use of works; fire protection, environmental protection and climate change response;

d/ Having a financial and capital allocation and mobilisation plan for scheduled project implementation, ensuring efficiency.

2. In addition to the requirements specified in Clause 1 of this Article, depending on the nature of a project and the form of investment, construction investment projects must comply with other relevant regulations.

Article 19. Construction designs

1. Construction designs shall be carried out in a single step or multiple steps. The number of design steps and their sequence shall be decided by the investment decision-maker during the formulation of a construction investment project, or by the project owner when implementing design steps after the project is approved. For projects only requiring preparation of techno-economic reports, a single-step design, i.e., the working drawing design, shall apply.

2. Construction designs take the following types:

a/ Preliminary design;

b/ Basic design;

c/ FEED;

d/ Engineering design;

dd/ Working drawing design;

e/ Other designs (if any).

Article 20. Requirements for construction designs

1. Being conformable with designing tasks and satisfying the requirements on content and level of details for each type of design.

2. Complying with applicable construction technical regulations or standards; meeting requirements on use functions, and technology (if any), construction safety; fire protection, environmental protection, and climate change response, and other technical requirements for each type of design.

3. For projects implemented through multiple design steps, the subsequent design step shall be carried out to concretise the preceding design step and may be adjusted to meet efficiency and use requirements, provided that such adjustments do not change the objectives and scale, and still meet techno-economic requirements of, the approved projects.

4. Ensuring the satisfaction of requirements on maintenance of construction works and plans on management, operation and use of construction works.

Article 21. Construction surveys

Construction surveys include:

1. Topographic survey;

2. Engineering geology and hydrogeology survey;

3. Hydrological survey;

4. Work status survey;

5. Other survey jobs serving construction activities.

Article 22. Requirements for construction surveys

1. Survey tasks and technical plans on construction survey shall be prepared in conformity with the type and grade of construction works, type of surveys, and design steps, and must meet requirements for making construction designs.

2. Technical plans on construction survey must meet requirements of construction survey tasks and comply with applicable technical regulations or standards on construction survey.

3. Construction survey must comply with technical plans on construction survey, ensure safety and environmental protection, meet requirements of approved construction survey tasks, and be subject to inspection, supervision and acceptance testing in accordance with regulations.

4. Construction survey results shall be included in reports, ensuring truthfulness and objectivity and accurately reflecting actual conditions, and shall be approved.

Section 2

FORMULATION AND APPRAISAL OF PROJECTS AND DECISION ON CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT

Article 23. Formulation of construction investment projects

1. The project owner or the agency/organisation assigned to prepare a project shall prepare a feasibility study report or techno-economic report for use as a basis for appraisal and approval of the project, except the case specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

2. It is required to prepare only a techno-economic report for:

a/ Investment projects on construction of works to be used for religious purposes, except the case specified in Clause 4 of this Article;

b/ Construction investment projects of a small scale or simple technical nature as specified by the Government;

c/ Other cases as specified by relevant laws.

3. For works directly serving agricultural production that are used by individuals or residential communities in accordance with the land law, or independent houses of households or individuals, it is not required to prepare a feasibility study report or techno-economic report for their construction, except multi-storey, multi-apartment independent houses subject to project formulation under the housing law, or independent houses located in protected areas of relics or world heritage sites subject to project formulation in accordance with the law on cultural heritage.

4. For projects on preservation, embellishment and restoration of relics, the formulation and appraisal of feasibility study reports or techno-economic reports and the approval of projects must comply with the law on cultural heritage.

5. The formulation and appraisal of prefeasibility study reports, investment policy proposal reports and project proposals serving investment policy decision or approval must comply with the law on public investment, the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership, the law on investment, and other relevant laws.

Article 24. Feasibility study reports

1. A feasibility study report consists of an explanatory part and a construction design.

2. The explanatory part must have the following principal contents:

a/ Necessity and objectives of construction investment; construction location and land use area; scale and capacity of the project;

b/ Factors ensuring feasibility and efficiency, and meeting the objectives and nature of the project;

c/ Total investment capital, sources of investment capital and form of investment in the project;

d/ Assessment of the project’s impacts relating to land recovery, ground clearance and resettlement (if any); construction safety; fire protection; environmental protection, and other necessary contents;

dd/ The project owner and form of project management; project implementation schedule; proposed investment phases and division of the project into component projects (if any).

3. The construction design in the feasibility study report is the basic design, except the case specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

4. Based on the project’s requirements, the investment decision-maker may decide to use FEED or engineering design instead of the basic design in the feasibility study report.

Article 25. Techno-economic reports

1. A techno-economic report consists of an explanatory part, working drawing design and technological design (if any).

2. The explanatory part must have the following contents: necessity of investment, construction objectives, construction location, land use area, scale, capacity, total investment, grade of works, construction execution solutions, ground clearance plan, construction safety, fire protection, environmental protection, funding sources, construction schedule, efficiency of construction investment, the project owner, and form of project management.

Article 26. Appraisal of feasibility study reports and techno-economic reports

1. Feasibility study reports and techno-economic reports shall be appraised for use as a basis for approving projects and deciding on construction investment.

2. For PPP projects, the appraisal of feasibility study reports and techno-economic reports by competent authorities must comply with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

3. For a public investment project, the investment decision-maker shall assign its specialised agency or a subordinate agency/organisation with appropriate expertise to appraise the following principal contents:

a/ Conformity of the feasibility study report or techno-economic report with the investment policy (if any);

b/ Factors ensuring the feasibility and efficiency of the project; determination of the total construction investment;

c/ Conformity of the construction design with the construction designing task;

d/ Conformity of the technological design with the project’s requirements (for projects involving technological designs);

dd/ Performance of environmental procedures in accordance with the law on environmental protection;

e/ Form of project management;

g/ Other contents as specified by relevant laws and as required by the investment decision-maker;

h/ Particularly for techno-economic reports, it is also required to assess the working drawing design in terms of work safety assurance and measures to ensure the safety of adjacent works; and assess fire protection design solutions in accordance with the law on fire prevention and fighting and rescue.

4. For a business investment project, the investment decision-maker shall organise appraisal thereof to ensure its compliance with Points a, c and d, Clause 3 of this Article, satisfaction of the requirements on investment and business, and compliance with other relevant regulations.

5. Works under construction investment projects that are subject to verification of construction designs as a basis for appraisal include:

a/ Construction works greatly affecting public safety and interests, or projects of a large scale or with complex techniques, which must have their construction designs verified in terms of work safety, compliance with applicable technical regulations or standards, and other contents as agreed in construction contracts;

b/ Works subject to appraisal of fire protection designs in accordance with the law on fire prevention, firefighting and rescue, which must have their construction designs verified to ensure the satisfaction of fire protection requirements.

6. For projects subject to appraisal of feasibility study reports by specialised agencies in charge of construction under Article 27 of this Law, appraisal results shall be summarised for submission to investment decision-makers for consideration and decision upon project approval.

7. Construction investment projects using technologies restricted from transfer or construction investment projects at risk of causing adverse environmental impacts involving the use of technologies shall be subject to technology-related appraisal or consultation in accordance with the law on technology transfer. Technology-related appraisal results or opinions shall be summarised for submission to the investment decision-makers for consideration and decision upon project approval.

8. For construction investment projects on the List of key projects subject to national defence and security assurance requirements as specified in Clause 6, Article 28 of this Law, in addition to the provisions of this Article, it is required to consult the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security on national defence and security assurance prior to project approval.

Article 27. Appraisal of feasibility study reports by specialised agencies in charge of construction, appraisal councils

1. The following projects shall be appraised by specialised agencies in charge of construction:

a/ Public investment projects;

b/ PPP projects;

c/ Business investment projects of a large scale or involving works greatly affecting public safety and interests as specified by the Government.

2. For projects requiring only techno-economic reports as specified in Clause 2, Article 23 of this Law, appraisal by specialised agencies in charge of construction is not required.

3. For national important projects and projects subject to the National Assembly’s investment decision or approval, ministries and provincial-level People’s Committees may establish appraisal councils to appraise feasibility study reports.

4. The appraisal of a feasibility study report covers the following principal contents:

a/ Conformity of the construction design with the master plan used as a basis for the project formulation;

b/ Connectivity of the project with regional technical infrastructure;

c/ Compliance with technical regulations and application of standards in accordance with the law on standards and technical regulations; factors ensuring construction safety of the construction design; assessment of fire protection design solutions in accordance with the law on fire prevention, firefighting and rescue;

d/ Compliance with regulations on management of construction investment costs for public investment projects and PPP projects.

Article 28. Approval of projects, decision on construction investment, adjustment of construction investment projects

1. Depending on the form of investment, the competence to approve projects and decide on construction investment must comply with the law on public investment, the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership, and other relevant laws. The investment decision-making shall be stated in the decision approving the construction investment project.

2. A public investment project may be adjusted when:

a/ There are changes in the State’s policies or laws resulting in an increase in total investment, or the competent authority adjusts investment policy;

b/ The master plan used as a basis for project formulation is adjusted, directly affecting the investment scale or construction location of the project;

c/ There are changes in objectives or investment scale, increase in total investment, or prolongation of project implementation duration due to force majeure events or fundamental changes of circumstances as specified in Article 13 of this Law;

d/ There occur factors that bring about higher efficiency to the project, with financial and socio-economic efficiency brought about by the project adjustment as proved by the project owner;

dd/ The price indices during the period of project implementation exceed those used for calculating price escalation contingency in the project’s total investment decided by the competent authority, leading to an increase in total construction investment.

3. The adjustment of PPP projects must comply with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

4. The adjustment of business investment projects shall be decided by investment decision-makers.

5. The Government shall provide in detail the formulation, appraisal, approval and adjustment of construction investment projects.

6. The Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Security shall provide the appraisal of feasibility study reports and techno-economic reports meeting sector-specific management requirements for construction investment projects serving national defence and security; and provide the List of key projects subject to national defence and security assurance requirements.

Section 3

MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION DESIGNS IMPLEMENTED AFTER PROJECT APPROVAL

Article 29. Appraisal and approval of construction designs

1. The project owner shall appraise, control and approve the construction design to be implemented after the project is approved.

2. Particularly, mini-projects using public investment capital of PPP projects as specified by the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership shall be managed like component projects of PPP projects. The formulation, appraisal and approval of construction designs and construction cost estimates must comply with the Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership.

3. Construction works specified in Clause 5, Article 26 of this Law must undergo construction design verification as a basis for appraisal or design control by project owners.

4. Project owners shall comply with relevant requirements of the laws on fire prevention, firefighting and rescue, environmental protection, and national defence and security assurance, and other relevant laws.

5. Particularly for construction investment projects serving national defence or security purposes, the Minister of National Defence or the Minister of Public Security shall provide the competence and procedures for formulation, appraisal, approval and adjustment of construction designs.

Article 30. Contents of appraisal of construction designs by project owners

1. For construction works under a public investment project, the project owner shall appraise the following contents:

a/ Satisfaction of designing task requirements;

b/ Conformity of the construction design implemented after the project is approved with the construction design in the feasibility study report;

c/ Compliance with applicable technical regulations or standards, and regulations on the use of building materials for the works;

d/ Assessment of force-bearing safety of works and assurance of safety for adjacent works; assessment of fire protection design solutions in accordance with the law on fire prevention, firefighting and rescue; rationality of selected technological lines and equipment for designing of works subject to technological requirements;

dd/ Consistency between major quantities in the cost estimate and design quantities; consistency between the value of cost estimates for work construction and the value of total construction investment; determination of the value of cost estimates of the works;

e/ Satisfaction of capacity conditions by the subjects performing survey, design and cost estimation in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws.

2. For construction works under PPP projects and business investment projects, the contents of appraisal must comply with the Government’s regulations.

Article 31. Adjustment of construction designs implemented after project approval

1. A construction design shall be adjusted in the following cases:

a/ When adjustments to the construction investment project require adjustment of the construction design;

b/ During the construction execution, there appears a requirement for adjusting the construction design to ensure quality of the works and to meet efficiency and use requirements of the project.

2. Project owners shall decide on the adjustment of construction designs under Clause 1 of this Article. Adjustments of construction designs shall be appraised and approved under Article 29 of this Law.

3. The Government shall provide in detail the formulation, appraisal, approval and adjustment of construction designs implemented after project approval.

Section 4

MANAGEMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Article 32. Forms of organisation of management of construction investment projects

1. Depending on the scale, nature, form of investment and conditions for implementation, a construction investment project may apply one of the following forms of project management organisation:

a/ Construction investment project management unit;

b/ The project owner organising the project management by hiring project management consultancy services, establishing a project management unit, or performing the project management by itself.

2. A construction investment project management unit specified in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article may be assigned by the investment decision-maker to simultaneously or continuously manage projects within the same sector or in the same geographical area; and may provide project management consultancy services when satisfying the required conditions and capacity.

Article 33. Contents of construction investment project management

1. Contents of the management of a construction investment project include management of scope and plans of jobs; job volume; construction quality; implementation schedule; construction investment costs; safety during construction execution; environmental protection in construction activities; contractor selection and construction contracts; and other necessary contents in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws.

2. The project owner shall perform or assign the project management unit or project management consultant to perform part or the whole of the project management contents specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 34. Management of implementation schedule of construction investment projects

1. The investment decision-maker shall decide on the implementation duration and schedule upon approving a project (including also the case of adjustment), ensuring feasibility and consistency with the approved policy or other relevant regulations.

2. The project owner and the construction execution contractor shall prepare the construction execution schedule and manage the project implementation in accordance with the approved schedule.

3. Project owners, project management consultants and construction execution contractors are encouraged to propose and apply appropriate technical, technological and management organisation solutions to shorten the construction duration.

Section 5

RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF SUBJECTS INVOLVED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Article 35. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of contractors providing project formulation consultancy, design consultancy and project management consultancy

1. Contractors providing project formulation consultancy, design consultancy and project management consultancy have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners or agencies/organisations assigned to perform project preparation and related parties to provide information and documents related to the assigned consultancy tasks;

b/ To have intellectual property rights over their consultancy products protected in accordance with law;

c/ To refuse to execute illegal requests of project owners;

d/ To hire subcontractors to perform part of the jobs according to construction contracts;

dd/ Other rights as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

2. Contractors providing project formulation consultancy, design consultancy and project management consultancy have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To perform obligations stated in construction contracts;

b/ To take responsibility for results and quality of jobs as specified in construction contracts and in accordance with law;

c/ To take responsibility for quality of jobs performed by subcontractors (if any). Subcontractors shall take responsibility for results of their jobs before the principal contractor and before law;

d/ To pay compensation if using inappropriate information, documents, standards, technical regulations or technical solutions; failing to meet consultancy result and quality requirements; or breaching construction contracts, thus causing damage to project owners;

dd/ Other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

Article 36. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of contractors providing verification consultancy

1. Contractors providing verification consultancy have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners and organisations/individuals engaged in project formulation or construction design to provide, explain and clarify information necessary for verification;

b/ To reserve their verification results and refuse to execute requests likely to falsify verification results or requests falling beyond their capacity and scope of verification jobs;

c/ Other rights as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

2. Contractors providing verification consultancy have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To carry out verification within the scope of requests stated in construction contracts, ensuring compliance with required contents;

b/ To explain and clarify verification results for use as a basis for appraisal;

c/ To take responsibility before law and before project owners for the completeness, accuracy, truthfulness, quality and contents of verification result reports;

d/ To pay compensation for inclusion of inaccurate information in verification result reports or for breaches of construction contracts causing damage to project owners;

dd/ Other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

Article 37. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction survey contractors

1. Construction survey contractors have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners and related parties to provide relevant data and information under construction contracts for performing construction survey;

b/ To refuse to execute requests not stated in construction contracts;

c/ To hire subcontractors to carry out construction survey under construction contracts;

d/ Other rights as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

2. Construction survey contractors have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To execute construction survey requests in accordance with this Law and construction contracts;

b/ To propose and supplement construction survey tasks upon detecting factors that directly affect design solutions;

c/ To take responsibility for construction survey results and quality of surveys they have performed; to take responsibility for quality management and results of surveys performed by subcontractors (if any). Subcontractors engaged in the construction survey shall take responsibility for their survey results before the principal contractor and before law;

d/ To pay compensation for improper performance of survey tasks; use of inappropriate information, documents, standards or technical regulations on construction surveys; or breaches of construction contracts;

dd/ Other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

Article 38. Rights and responsibilities of agencies appraising feasibility study reports and techno-economic reports

1. Specialised agencies under investment decision-makers or agencies/organisations assigned by investment decision-makers to carry out appraisal have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners and organisations/individuals carrying out construction surveys, or preparing or verifying feasibility study reports or techno-economic reports to provide, explain and clarify information necessary for appraisal;

b/ To request project owners to hire consultancy organisations to carry out verification or invite qualified and experienced organisations/individuals to participate in appraisal;

c/ To reserve appraisal results and refuse to execute requests likely to falsify appraisal results or requests falling beyond their capacity and scope of appraisal jobs.

2. Specialised agencies under investment decision-makers or agencies/organisations assigned by investment decision-makers to carry out appraisal have the following responsibilities:

a/ To appraise feasibility study reports and techno-economic reports in accordance with this Law, and summarise opinions and appraisal results of related agencies and organisations for submission to investment decision-makers for approving projects and deciding on construction investment;

b/ To take responsibility before law and investment decision-makers for results of the jobs they perform.

3. Appraisal councils and specialised agencies in charge of construction have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners and related organisations and individuals to explain and clarify information relating to construction survey, and preparation and verification of feasibility study reports for appraisal purposes;

b/ To request planning and architecture management agencies of localities where projects are implemented to provide relevant planning information when necessary;

c/ To request project owners to hire consultancy organisations for verification or invite qualified and experienced organisations or individuals to participate in appraisal when necessary;

d/ To reserve appraisal results and refuse to execute requests likely to falsify appraisal results.

4. Appraisal councils and specialised agencies in charge of construction have the following responsibilities:

a/ To carry out appraisal in accordance with this Law;

b/ To notify appraisal opinions and results to project owners and related agencies;

c/ To take responsibility before law for results of the jobs they perform.

Article 39. Rights and responsibilities of investment decision-makers

1. Investment decision-makers have the following rights:

a/ To approve, or decentralise powers to or authorise others to approve, projects; to decide, or decentralise powers to or authorise others to decide, on the determination of types of construction designs in feasibility study reports and account-finalisation of construction investment capital. The decentralisation of powers or authorisation must comply with the law on organisation of the Government, the law on organisation of local administration, the law on public investment, the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership, and other relevant laws;

b/ To refuse to approve projects that do not meet investment objectives and efficiency requirements;

c/ To suspend or cancel the implementation of approved or ongoing construction investment projects in accordance with law when deeming it necessary;

d/ To modify or adjust construction investment projects in accordance with Article 28 of this Law when deeming it necessary;

dd/ Other rights as provided by law.

2. Investment decision-makers have the following responsibilities:

a/ To organise appraisal of projects and decide on construction investment;

b/ To ensure funding sources for implementation of construction investment projects;

c/ To inspect the implementation of construction investment projects by project owners;

d/ To be held responsible before law for their decision; within the ambit of their competence, to take overall responsibility for issues arising during the implementation and completion of projects, account-finalisation of construction investment capital, and commissioning of projects.

Article 40. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project owners

1. Project owners have the following rights:

a/ To prepare projects, make and verify construction designs, and conduct construction surveys in accordance with this Law;

b/ To select, and enter into construction contracts with, contractors to perform jobs involved in project preparation, project management, construction survey, design, and construction design verification;

c/ To organise project preparation and management;

d/ Other rights as provided by law.

2. Project owners have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To select experienced and capable contractors for design consultancy, construction design verification and construction survey in accordance with regulations;

b/ To identify requirements and contents of tasks for project preparation, construction survey, construction design and construction design verification;

c/ To provide necessary information and documents to consultancy contractors in project preparation, construction survey, design and design verification;

d/ To organise acceptance testing of project preparation, construction survey and construction design results, and archive dossiers of construction investment projects, construction designs and construction surveys;

d/ To properly perform construction contracts and pay compensation for damage caused by breaches of construction contracts;

e/ To inspect and supervise project implementation; to periodically report on project implementation to investment decision-makers and competent state management agencies;

g/ To be held responsible before law and before investment decision-makers for results of the jobs they perform;

h/ Other obligations and responsibilities as stated in construction contracts and relevant regulations.

Article 41. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction investment project management units

1. Construction investment project management units have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners to provide information and documents related to assigned project management tasks, if not assigned to act as project owners;

b/ To exercise project management rights in conformity with assigned tasks;

c/ To propose plans and solutions for project management organisation and make recommendations to competent authorities to resolve issues falling beyond their competence;

d/ To hire consultancy organisations to participate in the project management when deeming it necessary after obtaining project owners’ approval, if not assigned to act as project owners.

2. Construction investment project management units have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To perform project owners’ responsibilities for project management within the scope of assigned tasks;

b/ To organise the project management ensuring the satisfaction of requirements on schedule, quality, cost, safety and environmental protection in construction activities;

c/ To report to project owners at the latter’s request during project management, if not assigned to act as project owners;

d/ To be held responsible before investment decision-makers or project owners, if not assigned to act as project owners, and before law, for project management results. Consultancy organisations hired to participate in the project management shall be held responsible for their performance before investment construction project management units and before law;

dd/ Other obligations and responsibilities as specified by law.

Article 42. Archive of construction works’ dossiers

1. Project owners shall archive appraisal dossiers, documents sent from competent agencies, and as-built dossiers of construction works. Contractors participating in construction activities shall archive dossiers of the jobs they perform.

2. Dossiers serving the management and use of construction works shall be archived by the entities managing/using such works for a duration at least equal to the service life of such works in accordance with law.

3. The preparation and archive of construction works’ dossiers must comply with the law on archives.

Chapter III

CONSTRUCTION PERMITS AND MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION ORDER

Article 43. General provisions on construction permits

1. Construction permits take the following types:

a/ New construction permit;

b/ Permit for repair, renovation or relocation of works;

c/ Definite-term construction permit.

2. Prior to the commencement of the construction of a work, the project owner must obtain a construction permit, except:

a/ Works classified as state secrets; urgent or emergency construction works; works under special public investment projects; works under investment projects implemented according to special investment procedures; makeshift construction works as specified by this Law; and works constructed in land areas for use for national defence and security purposes in accordance with the land law;

b/ Works under public investment projects with their construction investment decided by the Prime Minister, heads of central bodies of political organisations, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Supreme People’s Court, the State Audit Office of Vietnam, the Office of the President, the Office of the National Assembly, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, central bodies of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and of socio-political organisations, or Chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels;

c/ Linear construction works spanning two or more provincial-level administrative units; linear construction works outside areas designated for urban development that are identified in approved urban and rural master plans or sectoral detailed master plans, or for which linear construction plans are approved by competent agencies;

d/ Offshore works under offshore construction investment projects for which competent authorities have allocated marine areas; airports, works within airports, and works ensuring flight operations outside airports;

dd/ Advertising works not subject to construction permit under the advertising law; and passive telecommunications infrastructure works;

e/ Construction works under construction investment projects whose feasibility study reports or adjusted feasibility study reports have been appraised by specialised agencies in charge of construction and which have been approved in accordance with regulations;

g/ Grade-IV works and independent houses with fewer than 7 storeys and total floor area of under 500 m², not located in functional zones, urban development areas included in general master plans for cities; functional zones, rural residential areas, urban development areas included in general master plans for urban areas of provinces or cities, general master plans for economic zones, national tourist areas; construction areas included in general master plans for communes; or areas for which architectural management regulations have been issued;

h/ Works on repair or renovation of interior items, or works on repair or renovation of exterior items not adjacent to roads in urban areas that are subject to architectural management requirements under regulations of competent state agencies; the repair or renovation must neither change use purposes or functions nor affect safety of force-bearing structure of the works, and must meet requirements on fire protection, environmental protection and technical infrastructure connection.

3. Before commencing the construction, owners of the works specified in Points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g and h, Clause 2 of this Article shall send a notice of construction commencement (except works classified as state secrets, urgent or emergency construction works, makeshift works specified in Point a, Clause 2 of this Article, and independent houses of households or individuals) to the competent state management agency in charge of construction in the locality where the works are constructed as decentralised by provincial-level People’s Committees for management, specifically as follows:

a/ Sending a notice of construction commencement, for the works specified in Points b and c, Clause 2 of this Article; or,

b/ Sending a notice of construction commencement together with a dossier equivalent to the dossier of application for a construction permit (exclusive of the construction permit application form), for the works specified in Points a, d, dd, e, g and h, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 44. Issuance of construction permits

1. Conditions for issuance of a construction permit for a work, for the types of permits specified in Clause 1, Article 43 of this Law:

a/ Ensuring compliance with land use purposes in accordance with land law;

b/ Ensuring conformity with the relevant urban and rural master plan or the separate urban design in accordance with the law on urban and rural planning or the architectural management regulation in accordance with the law on architecture or another sectoral detailed master plan in accordance with the planning law, except cases of issuance of definite-term construction permits;

c/ Ensuring that the construction design ensures safety for the work and adjacent works; ensuring compliance with environmental protection and fire protection regulations; and ensuring technical infrastructure connectivity.

2. Definite-term construction permits shall be issued for works that are located in areas included in master plans in accordance with the law on urban and rural planning or other approved and announced sectoral detailed master plans that have not yet been implemented and for which competent state agencies have not yet issued land recovery decisions.

3. The Government shall provide in detail the conditions, competence, dossiers, order and procedures for issuance, adjustment, renewal, re-issuance, revocation, cancellation and disclosure of construction permits.

Article 45. Rights and responsibilities of agencies competent to issue construction permits; responsibilities of agencies and organisations involved in issuance of construction permits

1. Agencies competent to issue construction permits have the following rights:

a/ To request project owners and organisations or individuals making construction designs to provide, explain and clarify information serving the issuance of construction permits;

b/ To refuse to execute requests for falsifying results of the issuance of construction permits or requests falling beyond their functions, tasks or scope of issuance of construction permits under regulations;

c/ To review conditions specified in this Law before sending a consultation request to state management agencies in the fields related to construction works in accordance with law.

2. Agencies competent to issue construction permits have the following responsibilities:

a/ To publicly display, explain and guide regulations on issuance of construction permits;

b/ To process dossiers and notify dossier processing results or notify project owners of the fact that the application dossiers are not qualified for issuance of construction permits;

c/ To issue construction permits according to the law-specified procedures and time limit;

d/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related authorities in, inspecting whether construction activities comply with construction permits; to suspend the construction and revoke construction permits according to their competence;

dd/ Persons competent to issue construction permits shall be held responsible before law and pay compensation for damage caused by improper or delayed issuance of permits;

e/ To check the validity of construction permit application dossiers.

3. Agencies and organisations involved in the issuance of construction permits have the following responsibilities:

a/ To give their opinions on matters related to construction works at the request of agencies issuing construction permits in accordance with law;

b/ To exercise their competence in accordance with law with respect to works constructed without permits or constructed in contravention of permits.

Article 46. Rights and responsibilities of organisations and individuals applying for construction permits

1. Organisations and individuals applying for construction permits have the following rights:

a/ To request agencies competent to issue construction permits to provide explanations and guidance and properly implement regulations on issuance of construction permits;

b/ To file complaints, initiate lawsuits or lodge denunciations against organisations and individuals that commit violations in the issuance of construction permits;

c/ To commence the construction of works in accordance with this Law.

2. Organisations and individuals applying for construction permits have the following responsibilities:

a/ To submit complete dossiers of application for construction permits and take responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of their dossiers;

b/ To ensure validity of contents of their construction permit applications in terms of land use rights and ownership rights over works on land;

c/ To pay a fee for the issuance of construction permits under regulations;

d/ To notify the construction commencement under Point dd, Clause 1, Article 48 of this Law;

dd/ To strictly comply with construction permits.

Article 47. Management of construction order

1. The management of construction order shall be conducted from the date of receipt of a commencement notice and commencement of the construction of a work to the date the work is put for acceptance testing and handed over for commissioning in order to detect, prevent and promptly handle violations.

2. The management of construction order must properly and fully comply with the order management contents relevant to the works requiring construction permits and those not requiring construction permits.

3. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall take overall responsibility for the management of construction order for construction works in localities under their management; commune-level People’s Committees shall take overall responsibility for the management of construction order in localities as decentralised by provincial-level People’s Committees.

4. Upon detection of violations, agencies competent to manage construction order shall exercise their competence in accordance with law.

Chapter IV

WORK CONSTRUCTION

Section 1

PREPARATION FOR WORK CONSTRUCTION

Article 48. Conditions for commencement of work construction

1. The commencement of work construction, except the cases specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, must ensure the following conditions:

a/ The construction site is ready for handover in whole or in part;

b/ The project owner possesses a construction permit under Article 43 of this Law;

c/ The working drawing design of the part of the construction work, the work item, or the construction work of which the construction is going to commence has been approved;

d/ The project owner has concluded construction contracts with the contractors performing construction activities related to the construction work of which the construction is going to commence according to the construction execution schedule;

dd/ The project owner has sent a notice of commencement of construction (except cases of constructing independent houses of households and individuals) in paper form or online to the local state management agency in charge of construction.

2. The commencement of construction of the following works only needs to meet the condition specified in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article:

a/ Urgent or emergency works and works of special public investment projects;

b/ Works of which the construction needs to be commenced early as directed by the competent authority and as decided by the Prime Minister.

3. The commencement of construction of independent houses of households and individuals only needs to meet the condition specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article and such works shall be built on lawful residential land as prescribed by the land law.

Article 49. Requirements for construction sites

1. Project owners shall install signboards and monitoring equipment at construction sites in accordance with law.

2. Construction execution contractors shall manage the entire construction sites in accordance with law, unless the management of construction sites is performed by project owners.

3. Construction execution contractors shall adopt measures to ensure occupational safety and health, and safety for people and vehicles entering and leaving construction sites; and collect and dispose of construction waste in an appropriate manner, not causing adverse impacts on the surrounding environment.

Section 2

WORK CONSTRUCTION EXECUTION

Article 50. Requirements for work construction execution

1. To comply with the approved construction designs, technical regulations and standards applicable to the construction works, and legal provisions on use of building materials; to ensure force-bearing safety, fire protection, safety in use, aesthetics, environmental protection, and other safety conditions as specified by law.

2. To ensure occupational safety and health; to ensure safety for construction works, humans, construction execution equipment, underground works, and adjacent works; to adopt necessary measures to minimise damage to humans and property upon occurrence of safety incidents during the process of construction execution.

3. To implement specific safety technical measures for work items and jobs subject to strict occupational safety and fire protection requirements.

4. To use materials and supplies as required in construction designs during the process of construction execution.

5. To conduct inspection, supervision and acceptance testing of the construction jobs and transition of construction stages when necessary, and acceptance testing upon completion of work items or construction works for handover and commissioning.

Article 51. Safety in work construction execution

1. Construction execution contractors shall ensure occupational safety and health; construction works, property, equipment and vehicles during the process of work construction execution; environmental protection; and fire protection.

2. Project owners shall organise the supervision of the implementation of safety regulations by construction execution contractors; suspend or terminate construction execution when detecting signs of violations of safety regulations or incidents causing safety hazards; coordinate with contractors to handle and remedy incidents or occupational accidents; and promptly notify and coordinate with competent state agencies upon occurrence of fatal incidents or occupational accidents.

3. Construction execution contractors shall identify dangerous zones in work construction execution; work out and submit to project owners for approval measures for ensuring safety for humans, construction works, property, equipment, and vehicles in dangerous zones in work construction execution; review safety measures on a periodical basis or on ad hoc basis in order to adjust them to suit the actual conditions for construction execution on the site.

4. In case the boundaries of the dangerous zone in construction execution of a work lie outside the construction site, the project owner shall report the approved safety measures to the specialised agency in charge of construction for inspection during the process of construction execution.

5. Machinery, equipment and supplies serving construction execution that are subject to strict safety requirements must be inspected before being commissioned.

Article 52. Environmental protection in work construction execution

During the process of work construction execution, construction execution contractors have the following responsibilities:

1. To work out and implement environmental protection measures during the process of work construction execution, regarding air environment, water environment, solid waste, noise, and other requirements as specified by the law on environmental protection;

2. To compensate for damage caused by environmental pollution as prescribed by law.

Article 53. Relocation of construction works

1. The relocation of construction works from one location to another must conform with relevant master plans as prescribed by the planning law and the law on urban and rural planning, ensuring the quality and safety of the works, not affecting adjacent works, and meeting conservation requirements for works subject to conservation requirements.

2. When relocating a construction work, the project owner or the owner of the work must have a permit for the relocation of the construction work, except cases exempt from construction permit.

3. The contractors executing the relocation of construction works shall implement measures to ensure occupational safety, safety for the relocated works and adjacent works, and environmental protection.

Article 54. Demolition of construction works

1. The demolition of a construction work shall be carried out in the following cases:

a/ The demolition aims to clear the site for the construction of a new or makeshift work;

b/ The construction work is at risk of collapse, affecting the community and adjacent works; the work needs to be urgently demolished in order to promptly prevent, control, and remedy the consequences of, disasters, catastrophes or epidemics, or to perform urgent tasks for the purposes of national defence, security or foreign relations as decided by competent state agencies;

c/ The construction work lies in an area where construction is prohibited;

d/ The construction work was constructed in contravention of relevant master plans as prescribed by the law on urban and rural planning or detailed sectoral master plans; the construction work was built without a construction permit or in contravention of construction permits, for works subject to construction permits;

dd/ The construction work encroaches on public land areas or land areas under the lawful use rights of another organisation or individual; the construction work was built in contravention of the approved construction design, for cases exempt from construction permit;

e/ The construction work is an independent house that needs to be demolished for construction of a new one;

g/ The construction work is demolished at the will of the project owner or the work owner;

 h/ The construction work has reached the end of its designed lifespan;

i/ Other cases as prescribed by relevant laws.

2. Responsibilities of involved parties in the demolition of a construction work:

a/ The project owner, the owner, manager/user of the construction work, or the person assigned to take charge of the demolition of the construction work shall organise the demolition of the construction work; organise the formulation and appraisal of the demolition plan and solution and execution of the demolition by itself/himself/herself or hire a consultancy organisation to perform these tasks; and be held responsible before law and pay compensation for damage caused by its/his/her faults;

b/ The contractor assigned to execute the demolition of the construction work shall work out demolition execution measures in conformity with the approved demolition plan and solution; execute the demolition of the construction work in accordance with the approved demolition execution measures and demolition decision or coercive demolition decision (if any); carry out the monitoring and observation of the construction work; ensure the safety for humans, property, the construction work, and adjacent works; and be held responsible before law and pay compensation for damage caused by its/his/her faults;

c/ The person authorised to decide on the demolition of the construction work shall be held responsible before law for the consequences resulted from failure to issue a demolition decision, late issuance of the demolition decision, or issuance of the demolition decision in contravention of law;

d/ The organisation or individual owning or using the construction work subject to demolition shall comply with the demolition decision of the competent state agency; otherwise, it/he/she shall be subject to coercive measures and bear all demolition expenses.

Article 55. Construction work-related incidents

1. During the process of construction execution or operation, exploitation and use of construction works, if detecting any safety risks or risks of incidents affecting the safety of human life, adjacent works and the community, the project owners, construction execution contractors, managers/users of the construction works and competent state agencies shall:

a/ Promptly request the cessation of the construction execution or operation, exploitation and use of the construction works and implement measures to ensure safety for humans and property;

b/ Implement necessary measures to restrict and prevent potential hazards to the construction works; and promptly notify thereof to relevant competent organisations and individuals;

c/ Protect the scene, unless it is necessary to apply urgent remedial measures to prevent damage.

2. When detecting or being notified of construction work-related incidents, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, competent state agencies and relevant organisations and individuals shall:

a/ Immediately implement emergency measures to remedy the incidents;

b/ For competent state agencies, organise investigation into the cause of the incidents and clarify responsibilities of organisations or individuals causing the incidents.

3. The construction execution or operation of a construction work involved in an incident may only resume after obtaining permission from the state agency competent to resolve the incident.

4. Organisations or individuals causing construction work-related incidents shall compensate for damage and bear all related expenses and be subject to administrative sanctions and examination for penal liability in accordance with relevant laws.

Section 3

QUALITY MANAGEMENT, ACCEPTANCE TESTING AND HANDOVER OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS

Article 56. Supervision of work construction execution

1. During the process of construction execution, construction works shall be supervised in terms of quality, work volume, construction progress, occupational safety and environmental protection. It is encouraged to conduct work construction execution for independent houses of households and individuals.

2. The supervision of work construction execution must meet the following requirements:

a/ Conducting acceptance testing of construction jobs during the process of construction execution and acceptance testing of transition of construction execution stages when necessary;

b/ Supervising construction execution in accordance with the approved construction design, applicable technical regulations and standards, regulations on management and use of building materials, technical specifications and construction contracts;

c/ Honesty, objectivity, and not for personal gain.

3. The contractors selected to perform construction execution supervision shall propose supervision solutions; procedures for controlling quality, work volume, construction progress, occupational safety and environmental protection; inspection and acceptance testing procedures; and measures for management of dossiers and documents during the process of supervision, and other necessary contents.

Article 57. Acceptance testing of construction works

1. The acceptance testing of construction works includes:

a/ Acceptance testing of construction jobs during the process of construction execution; acceptance testing of transition of construction execution stages when necessary;

b/ Acceptance testing upon completion of work items and completion of construction works.

2. Completed work items and construction works may only be put into operation and use after undergoing acceptance testing, ensuring compliance with requirements set in construction designs, applicable technical regulations and standards, regulations on the management and use of building materials, and being accepted in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws.

3. Project owners shall organise the acceptance testing of construction works. Organisations and individuals participating in the acceptance testing shall be held responsible for the products they certify during the acceptance testing of the construction works.

4. The acceptance testing of construction works during the process of construction execution and upon completion of construction execution of construction works under projects of national importance, large-scale, technically complicated works, and works with great impacts on public safety and interests shall be inspected by competent agencies before the works are commissioned, specifically as follows:

a/ The State Council for Inspection of Acceptance Testing of Construction Works shall organise the acceptance testing of construction works under projects of national importance and large-scale, technically complicated works;

b/ The specialised agencies in charge of construction shall organise the inspection of the acceptance testing by project owners for construction works not falling into the case specified in Point a of this Clause.

5. The Prime Minister shall decide on the establishment of the State Council for Inspection of Acceptance Testing of Construction Works, specifying the organisational structure, responsibilities, powers, and working regime of, and responsibilities for coordination between ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, relevant organisations and individuals with the Council.

6. The Government shall prescribe in detail quality management and acceptance testing of construction works; and large-scale, technically complicated works; and the management of the construction of independent houses.

Article 58. Handover of construction works

1. The handover of construction works must comply with the following regulations:

a/ The acceptance testing of the construction works has been carried out in accordance with this Law;

b/ It is able to ensure safety when the works are commissioned;

c/ For urban area construction investment projects, it is permitted to hand over all or some of works under the projects for operation and use, but before the handover, the construction investment must be completed to ensure the synchronisation of technical and social infrastructure according to the approved investment phases and construction design, ensuring connection with the general technical infrastructure of the area, and conformity with the content of projects and approved master plans.

2. Project owners shall receive construction works according to construction contracts concluded with contractors. Those who participate in the handover of construction works shall be held responsible for the quality of the products they certify during the handover process.

In case project owners are not concurrently the owners or managers/users of construction works, the project owners shall hand over the construction works to the owners or managers/users after organising the acceptance testing of the construction works. The handover of construction works must be recorded in a minutes.

3. Before handing over construction works, construction execution contractors shall provide the project owners with documents including as-built drawings, operating instructions, maintenance procedures, a list of equipment, spare parts and supplies, and other necessary related documents.

4. In case the project owners have yet to hand over construction works to the owners or managers/users, they shall temporarily manage and operate the construction works.

5. For urban area construction investment projects, in addition to complying with Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, the project owners shall hand over technical infrastructure facilities, social infrastructure facilities and other facilities as specified by the Government.

Section 4

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF SUBJECTS IN CONSTRUCTION EXECUTION

Article 59. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project owners in work construction execution

1. Project owners have the following rights:

a/ To execute or hire contractors to execute work construction in accordance with this Law; to supervise contractors in construction execution and request them to execute work construction under construction contracts; to review and approve construction execution measures and measures for ensuring safety and environmental sanitation proposed by contractors;

b/ To suspend the performance of, or terminate, contracts with construction execution contractors in accordance with law and construction contracts;

c/ To terminate work construction execution and request construction execution contractors to remedy consequences caused by their violations of regulations on work quality, safety and environmental protection;

d/ To request other organisations and individuals to respect their rights during work construction execution;

dd/ To exercise other rights as provided by law.

2. Project owners have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To select construction execution contractors suitable to types and grades of works;

b/ To hand over construction sites to construction execution contractors according to work construction execution schedules.

c/ To organize quality supervision and management of construction activities suitable to the forms of project management and conformable with construction contracts;

d/ To examine and approve construction execution measures, specifying measures to ensure safety and environmental sanitation;

dd/ To organise acceptance testing, payment and account-finalization of works;

e/ To hire consultancy organisations that are fully capable of inspecting work quality when necessary;

g/ To consider and decide on contractors’ proposals related to designs in the process of construction execution;

h/ To archive construction work completion dossiers;

i/ To take responsibility for the quality and origin of supplies, raw materials, materials, equipment and construction products they supply for use in works;

k/ To pay compensations for damage caused by their contract breaches and other violations due to their fault;

l/ To perform other obligations and responsibilities specified by the law on construction and other relevant laws.

Article 60. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of project owners in supervision of work construction execution

1. Project owners have the following rights:

a/ To themselves supervise or hire contractors to supervise work construction execution in accordance with this Law; to monitor and supervise contractors in supervision of work construction execution and request construction execution supervision contractors to strictly perform construction contracts;

b/ To change or request consultancy organisations to change supervisors in case the supervisors fail to strictly comply with regulations;

c/ To suspend the performance of, or terminate, construction contracts in accordance with law;

d/ To exercise other rights in accordance with construction contracts and relevant laws.

2. Project owners have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To hire supervision consultants to supervise work construction execution suitable to the types and grades of construction works in case they are unable to supervise work construction execution by themselves;

b/ To notify related parties of rights and obligations of supervision consultants;

c/ To promptly respond to proposals of supervisors;

d/ To fully perform the obligations stated in work construction contracts, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties;

dd/ To preserve construction execution supervision results;

e/ To pay compensations for damage caused by the selection of supervision consultants that lack conditions and capacity to supervise the work construction execution, acceptance testing of incorrect volume, construction at variance of designs, and other violations due to their fault;

g/ To perform other obligations and responsibilities stated in construction contracts and specified by relevant laws.

Article 61. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction execution contractors

1. Construction execution contractors have the following rights:

a/ To refuse to perform obligations not stated in construction contracts or handle other illegal requests;

b/ To propose construction design modifications to suit construction execution reality, ensuring quality and efficiency;

c/ To request payment under construction contracts;

d/ To terminate the construction execution upon occurrence of risks of causing unsafety to people and works or in case the contract-awarding parties fail to strictly perform their commitments in construction contracts;

dd/ To request compensations for damage caused by the contract-awarding parties or other subjects;

e/ To exercise other rights stated in construction contracts and provided by relevant regulations.

2. Construction execution contractors have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To properly perform construction contracts;      

b/ To make, and submit to project owners for approval, construction execution measures, specifying measures to ensure safety and environmental sanitation before the construction execution is commenced;

c/ To execute construction strictly according to the designs and applicable standards and technical regulations, ensuring quality, progress, safety and environmental protection;

d/ To apply appropriate quality control systems and make dossiers of work quality management;

dd/ To comply with requirements on construction sites;

e/ To take responsibility for the quality and origin of supplies, raw materials, materials, equipment and construction products they supply for works;

g/ To manage workers on construction sites, ensuring security, order and environmental protection;

h/ To make as-built drawings and take part in the acceptance testing of works;

i/ To provide work warranty within the scope of the jobs they perform under construction contracts.

k/ To pay compensations for damage caused by their breaches of construction contracts, use of materials of inappropriate categories or failure to meet requirements of approved designs, inferior-quality construction execution or activities causing environmental pollution, and other violations;

l/ To take responsibility before project owners and law for construction execution quality according to approved designs, including also jobs performed by subcontractors (if any); subcontractors shall take responsibility before principal contractors and law for the quality of the jobs they perform;

m/ To perform other obligations stated in construction contracts and specified by relevant regulations.

Article 62. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of designing contractors in the construction execution

1. Designing contractors have the following rights:

a/ To exercise the rights provided in Clause 1, Article 35 of this Law;

b/ To request project owners and construction execution contractors to strictly follow the designs;

c/ To reject project owners’ requests for design changes that are incompliant with law, and applicable technical regulations and standards.

d/ To refuse to carry out acceptance testing of work items and construction works that are constructed not according to the designs;

dd/ To exercise other rights stated in construction contracts and provided by relevant regulations.

2. Designing contractors have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To perform the obligations and responsibilities specified in Clause 2, Article 35 of this Law;

b/ To appoint persons who are fully capable of carrying out design author’s supervision under construction contracts; persons performing this task shall take responsibility before law for their violations and pay compensation for damage caused due to their fault;

c/ To participate in the acceptance testing of construction works under construction contracts with project owners;

d/ To consider and resolve irrationalities in construction designs at the request of project owners;

dd/ To promptly notify project owners of construction activities that are carried out at variance of approved designs and propose handling measures;

e/ To perform other obligations and responsibilities stated in construction contracts and specified by relevant regulations.

Article 63. Rights, obligations and responsibilities of construction execution supervision contractors

1. Construction execution supervision contractors have the following rights:

a/ To participate in the acceptance testing of completed construction jobs, work items and works;

b/ To request construction execution contractors to strictly comply with approved designs and construction contracts;

c/ To reserve their opinions on the supervision jobs they perform;

d/ To suspend the construction execution when detecting that works are at risk of unsafety or contractors execute the construction at variance of designs, and promptly notify such to project owners for handling;

dd/ To reject requests that are not stated in construction contracts or other unlawful requests;

e/ To exercise other rights stated in construction contracts and provided by relevant regulations.

2. Construction execution supervision contractors have the following obligations and responsibilities:

a/ To supervise and take responsibility for the quality of the supervision jobs under construction contracts;

b/ To refuse to carry out the acceptance testing of works that are not up to quality requirements, fail to conform to applicable technical regulations and standards and requirements of work designs;

c/ To notify project owners of irrationalities in construction designs;

d/ To supervise the implementation of regulations on safety and environmental protection;

dd/ To pay compensations for damage caused by the falsification of supervision results on construction volumes implemented at variance of designs, not in conformity with applicable technical regulations and standards which have not been reported by supervisors to project owners or competent persons for handling, and by other violations due to their fault;

g/ To perform other obligations and responsibilities stated in construction contracts and specified by relevant regulations.

Section 5

WARRANTY, MAINTENANCE AND TERMINATION OF OPERATION AND USE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS

Article 64. Warranty for construction works

1. Construction execution contractors shall provide warranty for the works they have executed the construction. Work and technological equipment supply contractors shall provide warranty for the equipment they have supplied.

The warranty for a work covers repair and replacement of damaged or faulty equipment.

2. The warranty duration of works and their equipment and technological equipment shall be determined according to types and grades of the works and regulations of manufacturers or construction contracts.

Article 65. Maintenance of construction works               

1. Maintenance of construction works must meet the following requirements:

a/ Construction works shall be maintained in the course of operation and use;

b/ The maintenance process shall be established and approved by project owners before putting construction works into operation or use; must be suitable to use purposes, types and grades of construction works and equipment installed in such works;

c/ The maintenance of works must ensure safety for people, property and works;

2. Owners, managers and users of works shall maintain construction works.

3. The maintenance of construction works must comply with approved maintenance plans and process.

4. Large-scale and technically complicated works, and works that have significant impacts on public safety and interests must undergo periodic safety assessments during their operation and use.

Article 66. Management, operation and use of construction works

1. Construction works shall be managed, operated and used for proper purposes, ensuring safety, sustainability, socio-economic efficiency, environmental protection and compliance with relevant laws.

2. The management, operation, use and protection of technical infrastructure works must comply with Clause 1 of this Article and satisfy the following basic requirements:

a/ Ensuring continuous and stable operation in accordance with operational management requirements, ensuring consistency and synchronisation;

b/ The provision of technical infrastructure services must meet specified criteria and quality standards, and satisfy the needs of organisations, individuals and the community;

c/ To share and connect technical infrastructure data to serve the integrated management and meet the needs of shared operation and use in accordance with law;

d/ To take appropriate measures to protect, ensure security and safety for, and to prevent, detect and handle acts of encroaching upon, technical infrastructure works during their operation and use;

3. The management, operation, use and protection of technical infrastructure works must comply with the Government’s regulations.

Article 67. Termination of operation and use of construction works               

1. Project owners, work owners, managers and users of works or competent state agencies shall decide to terminate the operation and use of construction works when these works’ lifetime expires, these works are at risk of becoming unsafe or causing incidents affecting the safety of users and safety of adjacent works, the environment and the community.

2. When deciding to terminate the operation and use of shared-use works, project owners, work owners, managers and users or competent state agencies shall issue written notices thereof to work-using organisations, individuals and households.

3. The operation and use of construction works may resume only after incidents have been remedied or safety threats have been eliminated. For an expired work, if wishing to continue to use the work, the project owner or the work owner, manager and user shall conduct quality assessment, reinforce and renovate it and repair its damage (if any) to ensure its safety and utilities.

Section 6

CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT OF SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION WORKS

Article 68. Investment projects on construction of special construction works

1. Investment projects on construction of special construction works include:

a/ Projects and works subject to state secrecy requirements;

b/ Emergency and urgent construction projects and works;

c/ Special public investment projects;

d/ Makeshift works.

2. The order and procedures for implementation of investment projects on construction of special construction works must comply with Articles 69, 70, 71 and 72 of this Law.

Article 69. Projects and works subject to state secrecy requirements

1. Works subject to state secrecy requirements include:

a/ State-secret works constructed according to requirements on assurance of secrets in construction activities in sectors specified by the law on protection of state secrets;

b/ Defence and security works on which information and documents are classified as state secrets under competent agencies’ decisions.

2. Agencies, organisations and persons that are assigned to manage and construct state-secret works have the power to decide on and shall take responsibility for constructing, and organising the construction of, these works from the stages of project formulation, survey, designing, construction execution and construction execution supervision to the stage of acceptance testing and commissioning.

3. Persons competent to promulgate, or delegated or authorised to promulgate, the list of state secrets in accordance with the law on protection of state secrets shall decide on the construction of the works specified in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article. The Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Security shall specify the competence, order and procedures for investment in construction of the works specified in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article as suitable to specific management requirements of their respective sectors and relevant laws.

Article 70. Emergency and urgent projects and works

1. Emergency construction works are those that are newly constructed, or repaired and renovated, and are constructed immediately after a competent person issues an emergency construction order, in order to promptly prevent, control and remedy consequences of disasters, catastrophes and epidemics.

Agencies, organisations and persons that are assigned to manage the construction of emergency works may decide by themselves and assign organisations and individuals to carry out survey, designing and construction execution work to meet requirements of the state of emergency. For emergency public investment projects, the order and procedures for investment decision must comply with the law on public investment.

2.  Urgent construction works that are newly constructed, or repaired and renovated must be constructed rapidly to promptly meet national defence, security, foreign affairs, national economic development requirements, national political tasks or pressing issues relating to the assurance of energy security, water source security, response to environmental incidents, and the development of technical infrastructure systems as required by the Government or decided by the Prime Minister.

Agencies, organisations and individuals assigned to manage the construction of urgent works may carry out procedures in parallel and concurrently, from the project preparation stage, project implementation to the stage of construction completion according to procedures specified by the Government.

3. The Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Security shall specify the competence, order and procedures for investment in construction of emergency and urgent works serving national defence and security, in line with the specific management requirements of their respective sectors.

Article 71. Special public investment projects

1. The order and procedures for deciding on investment in and organising the implementation of special public investment projects must comply with the law on public investment. Investment decision-makers and project owners may decide on the application of fast-track procedures for a number of jobs specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

2. The formulation and appraisal of a feasibility study report shall be carried out as follows:

a/ The investment decision-maker shall decide on the use of the basic design, FEED or technical design in the feasibility study report and determine the number of design stages;

b/ The feasibility study report must be subject to verification for use as a basis for appraisal and approval;

c/ The specialised agency under the investment decision-maker shall appraise the feasibility study report with the following contents: investment scale; connectivity with regional technical infrastructure; compliance with applicable technical regulations or standards; factors ensuring construction safety; fire prevention and fighting requirements specified by the law on fire prevention and fighting and rescue; technological design solutions for projects with technological requirements; total investment of the project; plans on division into component projects and phased investment (if any).

3. The formulation and appraisal of the construction design stage following the design stage in the feasibility study report shall be carried out as follows:

a/ The project owner shall decide on the organisation of formulation, contents of appraisal and approval of the construction design stage;

b/ The construction design shall be prepared for the entire work, or for each work item, component or construction phase; and may be prepared in parallel and concurrently with the formulation and appraisal of the feasibility study report, project approval and construction;

c/ The construction design shall be verified, assessed and concluded by a consultancy organisation as compliant with applicable technical regulations and standards; ensuring requirements on force-bearing safety of the work and safety of adjacent works; and meeting requirements for fire prevention and fighting in accordance with the law on fire prevention and fighting and rescue.

4. The investment decision-maker and the project owner shall take responsibility for their decisions; related organisations and individuals shall take responsibility for results of the jobs they perform.

Article 72. Makeshift works

1. Makeshift works include:

a/ Works constructed to serve the construction of main works;

b/ Works used for the organisation of events that are approved by provincial- or commune-level People’s Committees, in accordance with their power decentralisation, in terms of location, scale and duration of existence.

2. The designing and construction of makeshift works must meet force-bearing safety, fire prevention and fighting, and environmental protection requirements during the construction and use of the works. Project owners shall organise the appraisal and approval of designs and construction cost estimates of makeshift works.

3. Makeshift construction works shall be dismantled upon expiration of their permitted existence duration or when main works are commissioned, except the works specified in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article that are in line with master plans in accordance with the planning law and the law on urban and rural planning.

Chapter V

CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT COSTS AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS

Section 1

MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT COSTS

Article 73. Principles of management of construction investment costs

1. The management of construction investment costs for public investment projects and PPP projects must adhere to the following principles:

a/ To ensure investment objectives and efficiency of projects, follow the specified sequence for construction investment, forms of investment, the division of projects into component projects, or investment phasing (if any).

Construction investment costs shall be determined for each type of design as suitable to each stage of the project, construction conditions and market price levels, for each construction project, work or bidding package; and must become more detailed and specific following each design step corresponding to each project stage;

b/ Project owners shall manage construction investment costs from the stage of project preparation to the stage of construction completion within the approved total construction investment of projects;

c/ The inspection, examination and audit of construction investment costs shall be carried out on the basis of conditions for and methods of determining construction investment costs decided and approved by investment decision-makers and project owners in accordance with the law on management of construction investment costs corresponding to each stage and time of project implementation.

2. The management of construction investment costs for projects, in addition to Clause 1 of this Article, shall be decided or implemented by investment decision-makers or project owners in accordance with this Law’s provisions on the management of construction investment costs.

Article 74. Contents of management of construction investment costs

1. Determination, verification, appraisal, approval and adjustment of preliminary total construction investment, total construction investment, construction cost estimates, prices of construction bidding packages and prices of construction contracts; payment and account-finalisation of construction contracts and investment capital; expenses for project management and construction investment consultancy; and other expenses.

2. Determination, use and management of construction norms and prices, prices of direct cost elements constituting prices of construction jobs and construction price indexes.

3. Rights and responsibilities of state management agencies, investment decision-makers, project owners and construction contractors in the management of construction investment costs.

4. The Government shall detail the management of construction investment costs.

Article 75. Preliminary total construction investment and total construction investment

1. Preliminary total construction investment means all construction investment costs of a project estimated on the basis of scope, scale, objectives, preliminary design plans and contents of the construction investment prefeasibility study report. In case a construction investment policy proposal report is prepared in accordance with the law on public investment, the projected total investment for a Group-B or Group-C project shall be determined as preliminary total investment.

2. Total construction investment means all costs estimated from the stage of project preparation to the stage of construction completion, including costs of compensation, support and resettlement (if any); construction; equipment (if any); project management; construction investment consultancy; and other costs and contingency costs. The approved total construction investment means the maximum cost that the project owner is permitted to use to implement the project.

Total construction investment shall be used as a basis for calculating and determining the project’s investment efficiency and feasibility and for capital management. Total construction investment shall be determined in accordance with the construction design and contents of the feasibility study report or the techno-economic report, for projects requiring only techno-economic reports.

3. Cost items in total construction investment shall be determined as follows:

a/ Cost items in total construction investment shall be determined on the basis of the design and necessary requirements of the project; with reference to and use of the system of construction prices, equipment prices and construction price indexes announced by competent state management agencies or market prices, prices from manufacturers/suppliers, or calculated from similar data on costs of domestic works already implemented or being implemented and existing regulations/guidance on cost determination;

b/ In case there are insufficient grounds for determining costs based on prices and cost data specified in Point a of this Clause, prices and data on costs of works or projects already implemented or being implemented overseas may be referred to and used for cost determination.

4. For projects divided into component projects, the determination of total investment of component projects must comply with Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article. In case of division of a project into component projects in the course of preparation of a feasibility study report or techno-economic report, total construction investment of the project shall be summarised on the basis of total construction investment of the component projects and other necessary costs of the project.

5. Preliminary total construction investment and total construction investment shall be adjusted as follows:

a/ Preliminary total construction investment shall be adjusted in case the investment policy adjustment in accordance with law leads to a change in the approved preliminary total construction investment;

b/ Total construction investment shall be adjusted in case the investment project adjustment in accordance with law leads to a change in the approved total construction investment.

Article 76. Construction cost estimates

1. Construction cost estimates means estimated costs for construction of a work and performance of a bidding package or construction job.

2. Construction cost estimates:

a/ Construction cost estimates cover all pre-estimated costs of work construction investment that are determined on the basis of the construction design implemented after the project is approved. Construction cost estimates include costs of construction, equipment (if any), project management, construction consultancy, other costs and contingency costs;

b/ Construction cost estimates shall be determined on the basis of design requirements; with reference to and use of the system of construction and equipment prices and construction price indexes announced by competent state management agencies or market prices, prices from manufacturers/suppliers, or calculated from similar data on costs of domestic works already implemented or being implemented and existing regulations/guidance on cost determination;

c/ In case there are insufficient grounds to determine costs based on the prices and data on costs specified in Point b of this Clause, prices and data on costs of works or projects already implemented or being implemented overseas may be referred to and used for construction cost determination.

3. Construction bidding package cost estimates:

a/ Construction bidding package cost estimates means all pre-estimated costs of a bidding package to perform one or several construction activities in different stages of the construction investment sequence of a project as suitable to the content, scope, nature, characteristics and specific conditions of the package;

b/ Construction bidding package cost estimates shall be determined on the basis of one ground or several grounds, including preliminary total construction investment, total construction investment, work construction cost estimates, construction design implemented after the project is approved, and the outline/task of the job. In case bidding package cost estimates are determined on the basis of the construction design implemented after the project is approved, price tools, data on costs and regulations and guidance on cost determination provided in Points b and c, Clause 2 of this Article may be used or referred to.

4. Construction job cost estimates means all pre-estimated costs of the performance of one job or several jobs in construction activities in stages of the construction investment sequence as suitable to the content, scope, nature and characteristics of each job.

5. Based on specific conditions of the project, the project owner shall decide to formulate construction cost estimates based on work construction cost estimates, construction bidding package cost estimates or construction job cost estimates.

6. Construction cost estimates of a public investment project shall be used as a basis for determining bidding package prices, selecting contractors and negotiating and concluding construction contracts.

7. Approved construction cost estimates shall be adjusted in case of adjustment of projects, total investment, construction designs and other cases specified by the Government. Adjusted construction cost estimates shall be appraised and approved under regulations.

Article 77. Construction norms

1. The system of construction norms includes techno-economic norms and cost norms. Techno-economic norms include basic norms and estimate norms.

2. The system of construction norms shall be developed and promulgated by state management agencies and reviewed and updated on a periodical basis.

3. For construction activities using new construction technologies or new construction materials not yet included in the system of norms specified in Clause 2 of this Article, project owners of public investment projects shall conduct surveys and provide data as requested by state management agencies.

4. Other agencies and organisations are encouraged to formulate estimate norms and send them to the norm-promulgating agencies specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

5. The system of construction norms specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be applied to public investment projects. In case construction norms are not available or are available but inappropriate, norms may be formulated, applied or adjusted or construction prices may be used in accordance with Article 78 of this Law to determine construction cost estimates and total construction investment, and manage construction investment costs.

6. For projects not specified in Clause 5 of this Article, the system of norms mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article may be referred to for determining construction prices, construction cost estimates, and total construction investment, and managing construction investment costs.

Article 78. Construction prices, prices of direct cost elements constituting prices of construction tasks and construction price indexes

1. Construction prices include prices of construction tasks, prices of construction task groups, prices of parts or structural units of the work, cost rates and construction investment capital rates.

Construction prices shall be determined on the basis of one ground or several grounds: market prices; prices and data on costs of bidding packages, works or projects already implemented or being implemented; the system of construction norms and prices of cost elements specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Based on specific conditions of a project or work, construction prices shall be selected for use as a basis for determining total construction investment and construction cost estimates.

2. Prices of direct cost elements constituting prices of construction tasks include construction material and labour prices, and construction machinery and equipment shift prices.

3. A construction price index means an indicator reflecting the level of fluctuation over time of construction investment costs (by work type or cost structure) and prices of cost elements specified in Clause 2 of this Article, serving as a basis for determining and adjusting the preliminary total investment, total construction investment, construction cost estimates, and construction contract prices, and for managing construction investment costs.

Article 79. Payment and account-finalisation of investment capital of construction investment projects

1. The payment and account-finalisation of investment capital of construction investment projects must comply with this Law, the law on the state budget, the law on public investment, and other relevant laws.

2. Upon the completion and acceptance testing, handover and commissioning of construction projects or works, or the termination of investment policy or suspension or termination of the implementation of projects under a competent person’s written request, construction investment capital shall be account-finalised.

Section 2

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS

Article 80. General provisions on construction contracts

1. Construction contract means a written agreement between the contract-awarding party and the contractor regarding the establishment, change or termination of civil rights and obligations to perform jobs in construction activities.

2. The conclusion and performance of construction contracts must comply with this Law, the civil law and other relevant laws. In addition, when entering into a construction contract for a public investment project or PPP project, parties shall:

a/ Ensure sufficient resources to perform obligations as agreed upon in the construction contract;

b/ Have completed the selection of contractors and the process of negotiation of the construction contract (if any);

c/ In case the contractor is a joint-name of contractors, there must be a joint-name agreement. The construction contract shall be signed by all joint-name members unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

3. The language used in construction contracts is Vietnamese. For construction contracts with the participation of foreign parties, the languages used therein are Vietnamese and another language as agreed upon by the parties. The order of priority of the languages used in a construction contract shall be agreed upon by the parties. In case the parties have no agreement, Vietnamese shall be used.

Article 81. Effect and legality of construction contracts

1. A construction contract takes effect when fully meeting the conditions specified by the civil law regarding conditions for civil transactions to take effect, and the parties must fully satisfy the capability conditions specified by this Law.

2. An effective construction contract may serve as a basis for the parties to perform and resolve disputes. Disputes not yet agreed upon by the parties in the construction contract shall be resolved in accordance with this Law, the civil law and other relevant laws.

3. When performing the specified functions and tasks, state management agencies, inspection, examination and auditing agencies, payment and capital-lending institutions and other related agencies shall respect legally signed and valid construction contracts, and may not infringe upon lawful rights and interests of parties to construction contracts.

4. A legally signed construction contract takes effect from the time of its signing or another time as agreed upon by the parties. In case a construction contract is notarized, its effective date must comply with the law on notarization. From the time the construction contract takes effect, the parties shall exercise their rights and perform their obligations toward one another as committed. Construction contracts may be modified or terminated as agreed upon by the parties or in accordance with law.

Article 82. Classification, contents and dossiers of construction contracts

1. Based on nature and contents of jobs to be performed, construction contracts include:

a/ Construction consultancy contract;

b/ Work construction contract;

c/ Contract on the supply of supplies and equipment to be installed in the construction work;

d/ Contract on designing and supply of supplies and equipment to be installed in the construction work;

dd/ Work engineering-construction contract;

e/ Work supplies-equipment supply-construction contract;

g/ Work engineering-supplies and equipment supply-construction contract;

h/ Turnkey contract;

i/ Other construction contracts.

2. Based on the form of applied contract prices, construction contracts include:

a/ Package contract;

b/ Fixed unit price-based contract;

c/ Adjustable unit price-based contract;

d/ Time-based contract;

dd/ Charge-plus cost-based contract;

e/ Output-based contract;

g/ Percentage-based contract;

h/ Mixed contract;

i/ Other construction contracts.

3. Construction contracts may also be classified according to other criteria.

4. Contents of construction contracts depend on the scale, nature and complexity of jobs involved in contracts. A construction contract may have the following contents:

a/ Applied legal grounds;

b/ Applicable laws and used languages;

c/ Content and volume of jobs;

d/ Quality and technical requirements; acceptance testing and handover;

dd/ Contract performance duration and schedule;

e/ Contract price, advance payment, payment, account-finalisation, currency used in payment and contract liquidation;

g/ Performance security for obligations stated in the contract by the parties;

h/ Modification of the construction contract;

i/ Rights and obligations of the parties;

k/ Liability for breaches of the contract, rewards and fines for breaches of the contract;

l/ Suspension and termination of the contract;

m/ Settlement of construction contract disputes;

n/ Risks, force majeure events and fundamentally changed circumstances;

o/ Other contents.

5. A construction contract dossier must comprise the construction contract, annexes and documents enclosed with the construction contract. The order of priority for application of documents in the construction contract dossier shall be agreed upon by the parties. In case the parties have no agreement, the order of priority shall be determined as follows:

a/ Construction contract’s agreement (if any);

b/ Notice of contract winning or contractor appointment;

c/ Bid application;

d/ Specific terms of the construction contract or terms of reference, for construction consultancy contracts;

dd/ General terms of the construction contract; 

e/ Bidding dossier or dossier of requirements of the principal;

g/ Design drawings and technical instructions;

h/ Bid dossier or dossier of proposals of the contractor;

i/ Written records of contract negotiation, documents modifying and supplementing the contract;

k/ Annexes of the construction contract;

l/ Other relevant documents.

Article 83. Security for the performance of obligations under a construction contract

1. Parties may agree to establish a measure to secure the performance of their obligations under the signed construction contract; in case of reaching such an agreement, the parties are obliged to apply the security measure until their obligations are fufilled under the construction contract or until the security is refunded as agreed upon. The rights and obligations of the parties in the relationship of securing the performance of obligations under the construction contract must comply with this Law, the civil law, and other relevant laws.

2. The contract-awarding parties may request a contractor to take a security measure for the performance of obligations under a construction contract; the contractor shall secure the performance of obligations under the construction contract as agreed upon by the parties. The contract-awarding parties have the right to dispose of the collateral or require the guarantor to perform its guarantee obligations or require the credit institution holding the escrow to perform its payment obligation in case the contractor breaches its construction contract obligations as agreed upon by the parties, resulting in failure to ensure safety, quality and progress, or refuses to perform the construction contract.

3. The contractor may require the contract-awarding parties to prove its financial capacity to perform the construction contract or to take a security measure for the performance of payment obligations, except for construction contracts in public investment projects. The contractor has the right to dispose of the collateral or require the guarantor to perform its security obligations or require the credit institution holding the escrow to perform its payment obligations in case the principal breaches its payment obligations under the construction contract. The contract-awarding parties shall prove its financial capacity to perform the construction contract or take a security measure for the performance of payment obligations as agreed upon by the parties.

4. The Government shall detail security measures and levels for the performance of obligations under construction contracts for public investment projects and PPP projects.

Article 84. Modification of construction contracts

1. Construction contract modification covers adjustments to the volume, schedule, performance period, contract unit price, contract price, and other contents of contracts. Construction contract modification shall be applied during the validity period of the construction contracts and must be made in writing.

2. The parties may agree to modify a construction contract in the following cases:

a/ The State changes policies and laws that directly affect the performance of the construction contract;

b/ There is a change in, or an adjustment to, the requirements on the content, scope of jobs, technical specifications, product quality, performance schedule, or advance payment or payment terms as agreed upon by the parties in the construction contract;

c/ There is a force majeure event as specified in Clause 1, Article 13 of this Law;

d/ There is a fundamental change in the circumstances for the construction contract performance as specified in Clause 2, Article 13 of this Law;

dd/ Other cases as agreed upon by the parties in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws.

3. In addition to the provisions in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the modification of construction contracts under public investment projects and PPP projects must comply with the following provisions:

a/ Unit price adjustments shall be applied to adjustable unit price-based contracts, time-based contracts, mixed contracts, and other construction contracts with adjustable unit prices;

b/ Unit prices in construction contracts shall be adjusted according to the content, scope, methods, and grounds for the adjustment as agreed upon by the parties in the contracts in accordance with law;

c/ When contract modification results in a change in the contract performance period without exceeding the approved project implementation period, or the approved adjustment thereof, or results in an increase in the approved bidding package price (including the contingency) without exceeding the approved total investment or the approved adjustment thereof, the project owner may consider and decide on the contract modification;

d/ In case of a force majeure event or fundamentally changed circumstance, the project owner may consider and decide on contract modification in adherence to the principle of not changing investment objectives and scale, not exceeding the approved total investment or the approved adjustment thereof, ensuring the project investment efficiency, and avoiding losses and waste. Contract modification includes changes in the contract type, contract price form, price adjustment method, data source for contract price adjustment, and other related contents.

4. The Government shall detail the methods and content of, and procedures for, construction contract modification.

Article 85. Suspension and termination of construction contracts

1. In a construction contract, the parties must agree on cases in which the contract may be suspended, as well as the duration of, and order and procedures for, suspending the contract performance. The suspension of a construction contract shall be applied in one of the following cases:

a/ A party seriously breaches its committed obligations under the construction contract;

b/ A force majeure event occurs as specified in Clause 1, Article 13 of this Law;

c/ It is requested by a competent state agency;

d/ There is a change in the law that directly affects the performance of the construction contract.

2. The termination of a construction contract must comply with the civil law regarding contract termination and in the following cases:

a/ When a force majeure event occurs as specified in Clause 1, Article 13 of this Law, and the parties cannot agree to modify the construction contract because one party or both parties no longer meet(s) the necessary conditions or is(are) no longer capable of performing the construction contract. Legal consequences must comply with the law on civil liability upon the occurrence of the force majeure event;

b/ When the job is suspended for a period exceeding the time limit specified in the construction contract not due to the fault of the other party, the breached party has the right to choose to cancel the construction contract or unilaterally terminate the construction contract.

3. The party suspending or terminating the construction contract must notify such in writing in advance to the other party, clearly stating the reason, time, and possible legal consequences, except cases of force majeure events. The party that fails to perform the notification obligation and causes damage to the other party shall compensate for damage caused in accordance with law.

4. The party suspending, unilaterally terminateing, or unlawfully canceling the construction contract shall compensate the other party for damage caused and perform other obligations as specified in the civil law.

Article 86. Rewards and fines for construction contracts, compensations for damage caused by breaches and settlement of disputes over construction contracts

1. Rewards or fines for construction contracts shall be agreed upon by the parties and stated in the contracts. Specific reward amounts shall correspond to levels of fulfilment of obligations under construction contracts as agreed upon by the parties.

2. Compensation for damage shall be determined based on actual damage, the pre-determined damage levels corresponding to breached obligations under construction contracts, and the severity of violations.

3. For a construction work under a public investment project or PPP project, the fine level for breaching the construction contract must not exceed 12% of the value of the breached contract proportion. In addition to the fine level as agreed upon, the breaching party shall also compensate for damage caused to the other party and a third party (if any) as agreed upon in the construction contract in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws

4. In case a party breaches the construction contract due to a third party’s fault, the breaching party shall be held responsible to the other party for the breach. Disputes between the breaching party and the third party shall be settled in accordance with law.

5. Methods of settling construction contract disputes:

a/ The settlement of disputes shall be carried out through negotiation, mediation, and application of dispute settlement models according to international practices, or by arbitration or court;

b/ For public investment projects and PPP projects, in case arbitration is used to settle disputes, priority shall be given to domestic arbitration organisations; the application of dispute settlement models according to international practices must comply with the requirements of treaties or must be permitted by the investment decision-makers and agreed upon by parties in construction contracts. A project owner’s dispute settlement expenses (if any) shall be included in total investment of the project.

Article 87. Payment, account-finalisation and liquidation of construction contracts

1. Construction contracts must specify the payment, provisional payment, account-finalisation and liquidation of construction contracts. The account-finalisation and liquidation of construction contracts include also cases in which unilateral account-finalisation and liquidation of construction contracts are permitted.

2. Payment of construction contracts:

a/ The payment of a construction contract must be consistent with the contract type, price and terms/conditions. The parties shall agree on the method, time, dossier, and conditions of payment or provisional payment;

b/ The contract-awarding party shall pay the full value and on time as agreed upon in the construction contract for each payment to the contractor after deducting the advance payment and retained amounts as agreed upon in the construction contract, unless otherwise agreed by the parties;

c/ The currency used in the payment of construction contracts is Vietnam dong; the use of a foreign currency for payment must comply with the law on foreign exchange management.

3. The contractor shall carry out the account-finalisation of the construction contract with the contract-awarding party suitable to the contract type and price within the time limit for account-finalisation of the construction contract as agreed by the parties. The content and dossier of account-finalisation of the construction contract must comply with the agreement in the contract.

4. Procedures, time limit and form of contract liquidation upon the termination of a construction contract specified in Clause 2, Article 85 of this Law shall be agreed upon by the parties.

5. If one party fails to carry out the account-finalisation or liquidation of the construction contract as agreed upon in the contract, the other party has the right to independently carry out the account-finalisation or liquidation of the construction contract.

Chapter VI

CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CAPACITY CONDITIONS

Article 88. Capacity of organisations and individuals engaged in construction activities

1. Holders of titles in construction activities must possess equivalent construction practice certificates in accordance with this Law, including designing manager for urban and rural planning; construction survey manager; construction design or design verification manager; construction execution supervisor; and person in charge of determining, appraising, and managing construction investment costs. Practice certificates shall be classified into Class I, Class II, and Class III.

2. Holders of titles of site chief commander, construction chief appraiser; and construction investment project manager must meet professional capacity and experience requirements.

3. Contractors being foreign organisations and individuals engaged in construction activities in Vietnam must comply with Vietnam’s regulations and possess operation licenses granted by state management agencies in charge of construction.

4. Organisations and individuals practicing the architecture profession must comply with the law on architecture.

5. Project owners shall select organisations and individuals for participating in construction activities, and take responsibility for their selection.

6. Organisations participating in construction activities shall publicly disclose their construction capacity information on the Ministry of Construction’s website. Such information serves as a source of reference for project owners when selecting contractors.

7. The Government shall specify conditions on capacity and experience of individuals engaged in construction activities; specify the competence, order and procedures for issuance and revocation of construction practice certificates; specify the conditions, competence, order and procedures for issuance and revocation of construction operation licenses for foreign contractors; provide disclosed information on organisations’ construction capacity; and specify the publication of individuals’ experience of practicing construction activities on the National Information System and Database on Construction Activities.

Article 89. Conditions for issuance of construction practice certificates

To be issued a construction practice certificate, an individual must meet the following conditions:

1. Possessing professional qualifications relevant to the content of application for a practice certificate;

2. Having a working period and experience relevant to the content of application for a practice certificate;

Article 90. Conditions for individuals independently practicing construction activities

Individuals independently practicing construction activities, including construction survey; construction designing and design verification; construction execution supervision; and determination, appraisal and management of construction investment costs, must possess practice certificates and capacity suitable for jobs they perform.

Chapter VII

STATE MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION

Article 91. Content of the state management of construction

1. Formulating and directing the implementation of strategies, schemes and plans on development of construction activities.

2. Promulgating, and organizing the implementation of, legal documents on construction; carrying out public communication about construction knowledge and laws.

3. Formulating and promulgating standards and technical regulations on construction; formulating, promulgating and announcing construction norms, construction prices, construction price indices, and prices of direct cost elements constituting prices of construction tasks.

4. Developing and managing the National Information System and Database on Construction Activities, and archiving dossiers of construction works.

5. Guiding, inspecting and evaluating the construction investment project management; managing the quality of construction works; managing construction investment costs and construction contracts; managing the construction operation capacity; managing occupational safety and health, and ensuring environmental protection in the work construction.

6. Managing the issuance and revocation of licenses, certificates, confirmations, and other administrative procedure settlement results in construction activities and the construction order management.

7. Examining, inspecting and settling complaints and denunciations, and handling violations in construction activities.

8. Organizing scientific and technological research and application.

9. Training human resources for construction activities.

10. Carrying out international cooperation in construction activities.

Article 92. Responsibilities for state management of construction

1. The Government shall perform the uniform state management of construction nationwide; and provide tasks and powers of ministries, sectors, localities, and specialised construction work-managing ministries in the state management of construction.

2. The Ministry of Construction shall assist the Government in performing the uniform state management of construction. Specialised construction work-managing ministries shall, within the ambit of their powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Construction in performing the state management of construction.

3. The Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security shall perform the construction order management and decentralise the management of construction order for construction works in land areas used for national defence and security purposes in accordance with the land law, construction works classified as state secrets, and urgent works serving national defence and security; formulate and promulgate cost estimate norms and construction prices that have not been promulgated or publicised by competent state management agencies, or have been issued or publicised but are not suitable to specific characteristics of construction works serving national defence and security; and perform the state management according to other assigned tasks and powers.

4. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall perform the state management of construction in their localities in accordance with law.

Chapter VIII

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 93. To amend, supplement and annul a number of articles, clauses and points of the laws concerning construction activities

1. To amend, supplement and annul a number of articles and clauses of Law No. 58/2024/QH15 on Public Investment, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 90/2025/QH15, as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 34 as follows:

“1. The prefeasibility study report for a national important project or group-A project with construction component must have the following contents:

a/ Preliminary design in accordance with the law on construction;

b/ The contents specified in Clause 2 of this Article.”;

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 43 as follows:

“3. Procedures for formulation and appraisal of, and decision on investment in, projects with construction components must comply with the law on construction and other relevant laws.”;

c/ To annul Point d, Clause 2, Article 38.

2. To amend and supplement a number of points of Clause 1, Article 17 of Law No. 55/2024/QH15 on Fire Prevention and Fighting, Rescue and Salvage, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 118/2025/QH15, as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Point b as follows:

“b/ Specialised agencies in charge of construction shall organize the appraisal of the contents specified in Points a, b, c, d and dd, Clause 1, Article 16 of this Law for projects subject to appraisal of fire prevention and fighting designs when appraising the feasibility study report on construction investment in accordance with the law on construction;”;

b/ To replace the phrase “construction designs implemented after the basic design” in Points d and dd with the phrase “construction design implemented after the project is approved”.

3. To annul Clause 1, Article 79 of Law No. 61/2024/QH15 on Electricity, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 116/2025/QH15.

4. To annul Clause 1, Article 56 of Law No. 95/2025/QH15 on Railways, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 112/2025/QH15.

Article 94. Effect

1. This Law takes effect on July 1, 2026, except the provisions in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Clauses 2 and 3, Article 43; Article 71; and Clauses 3, 4, and 5, Article 95 of this Law take effect on January 1, 2026.

3. Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 03/2016/QH14, Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 40/2019/QH14, Law No. 62/2020/QH14, Law No. 45/2024/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 55/2024/QH15, Law No. 61/2024/QH15, Law No. 84/2025/QH15, Law No. 93/2025/QH15, and Law No. 95/2025/QH15 (below collectively referred to as Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction), ceases to be effective from the effective date of this Law.

4. The Government shall detail Clause 1, Article 6; Articles 7, 8, 11 and 16; Point a, Clause 1, Article 18; Articles 19, 21 and 22; Clause 3, Article 23; Articles 32, 42 and 47; Clause 1, Article 48; Articles 49, 51, 54, 55, 58, 64, 65, 67, 68, 79, 82, 85 and 87; and guide the implementation of this Law.

Article 95. Transitional provisions

1. Investment construction projects and construction designs approved before July 1, 2026, are not required to be re-approved; their subsequent activities not yet implemented must comply with this Law.

2. Construction works of which the construction designs implemented after the basic design have been appraised by specialised construction agencies under Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction, are not required to be appraised by specialised construction agencies in case of design adjustment.

3. Construction works that have been issued construction permits in accordance with Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction and are exempt from construction permits in accordance with this Law are not required to have their construction permits adjusted in case of adjustment of their construction designs.

Construction works that are exempt from construction permits in accordance with Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction and meet the conditions for construction commencement before January 1, 2026, may continue to be exempt from construction permits under regulations.

4. Construction works that have received notices of results of the appraisal of construction designs implemented after basic designs from the specialised construction agencies, and meet the conditions for issuance of construction permits in accordance with Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction, are exempt from construction permits.

5. Construction works of projects that are issued construction permits before January 1, 2026, and have their adjusted feasibility study reports appraised by specialised construction agencies and approved under regulations, are not required to have their construction permits adjusted. Construction works of projects that have their adjusted feasibility study reports appraised in accordance with Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction by specialised construction agencies and approved under regulations are exempt from construction permits.

6. Construction investment project management units established before July 1, 2026, are not required to change their project management organisation methods in accordance with this Law.

7. Construction contracts signed before July 1, 2026, must comply with Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction and may apply this Law in case of force majeure events or fundamental changes in their circumstances. From the effective date of this Law, for construction contracts that are in the process of negotiation or finalisation pending conclusion, the parties may agree to apply the provisions of this Law, adhering to the principle of following the contractor selection process (if any) and complying with other relevant regulations.

8. Construction works commenced before July 1, 2026, that are subject to examination of acceptance testing work in accordance with Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction but are not subject to examination of acceptance testing work under this Law, are not subject to examination of acceptance tests. Their project owners shall perform the quality management, construction management, acceptance testing of completed construction works, handover for commissioning under regulations, and take responsibility for the acceptance testing results.-

This Law was passed on December 10, 2025, by the 15^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 10^th session

Chairman of the National Assembly
TRAN THANH MAN