List of projects subject to investment policy approval

Which projects are subject to investment policy approval in 2026 under the Investment Law 2026? Let us find out in the content below.

1. What is investment policy approval?

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 3 of the Investment Law 2025:

Investment policy approval” means a competent authority approving the objectives, location, scale, implementation schedule and duration of a project; investor or form of selection of investor and special mechanisms or special policies (if any) to execute an investment project.

2. List of projects subject to investment policy approval

Article 24 of the Investment Law 2025 provides for projects subject to investment policy approval, including:

2.1 Authority to grant investment policy approval of the National Assembly

- Investment projects involving betting and casino business, excluding business in prize-winning electronic games for foreigners.

- Nuclear power plant investment projects.

- Investment projects that request the State to assign sea areas.

- Investment projects on construction and commercial operation of golf courses, except where the construction and commercial operation of a golf course constitute part of a housing or urban development project which is allocated or leased out land through auction of land use rights or bidding to select an investor.

- Other investment projects subject to investment policy approval by the Prime Minister as stipulated by law.

 

2.2 Authority to grant investment policy approval of the Prime Minister

- Investment projects that require repurposing of land of special-use forests, headwater protection forests or border protection forests of 50 hectares or more; of wind- and sand-shielding protection forests or protection forests for tide shielding and sea encroachment prevention of 500 hectares or more; of production forests of 1,000 hectares or more.

- Investment projects that require repurposing of land meant for wet rice cultivation with 02 or more crops of 500 hectares or more.

- Investment projects that require relocation of 10,000 people or more in mountainous areas or 20,000 people or more in other areas.

- Investment projects that conform to the law on cultural heritage, regardless of the land area or population size within protection zone I and protection zone II of monuments recognized by competent authorities as special national monuments on the World Heritage List, national monuments or special national monuments.

- Foreign investors’ investment projects in the fields of telecommunications services with network infrastructure, afforestation, publishing and press.

- Investment projects that request the State to allocate or lease out land without auction of land use rights or bidding to select investors to execute projects using land; projects that request land repurposing in accordance with the law on land.

- Investment projects that request the State to allocate or lease out land or permit land repurposing in areas which affect national defense and security.

- Investment projects on construction and commercial operation of infrastructure in industrial parks, export-processing zones and concentrated digital technology zones.

- Investment projects on construction of new terminals and terminal areas of special seaports and class I seaports.

- Investment projects on construction of new airports and aerodromes; runways of airports and aerodromes; international passenger terminals; cargo terminals of airports and aerodromes with a capacity of 01 million tonnes or more per year.

- New investment projects on passenger air transport business.

- Investment projects on petroleum processing.

- Investment projects that require application of a special mechanism or policy which is different from that prescribed by laws and resolutions of the National Assembly.

2.3. Authority to grant investment policy approval of the provincial People’s Committee

- Investment projects on construction of residential housing (for sale, lease or lease purchase) and urban areas, regardless of the land area or population size, in cases where the investor has land use rights through an agreement on receipt of land use rights or currently has land use rights as prescribed by the law on housing and the law on land.

- Investment projects, regardless of land area or population size, within restricted development areas or historic inner areas (determined under planning schemes as per the law on urban and rural planning) of special-class urban areas.

Cases not subject to investment policy approval

The investment policy approval as prescribed in Clause 8 does not apply in the following cases::

- Investment projects of individuals not subject to the written approval by the provincial People's Committee before being granted decision on land lease or permission for land repurposing as stipulated by the law on land.

- Investment projects on construction of technical infrastructure in industrial clusters.

- Mineral mining projects subject to auction of mineral mining rights; mineral mining projects in service of projects, works, work items or implementation of emergency mobilization measures as prescribed by the Law on Geology and Minerals.

- Other investment projects as prescribed by the Government.

3. How is the authority to grant investment policy approval regulated?

Article 25 of the Investment Law 2025 provides for the authority to grant investment policy approval as follows:

(1) The National Assembly shall grant investment policy approval to the investment projects specified in Clause 20 Article 24 of this Law.

- Investment projects that require application of a special mechanism or policy which is different from that prescribed by laws and resolutions of the National Assembly.

(2) Except the case specified in (1), the Prime Minister shall grant investment policy approval to the following investment projects:

- Investment projects specified in Clauses 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 19 in the Section 2:

+  Investment projects that require repurposing of land of special-use forests, headwater protection forests or border protection forest of 50 hectares or more; of wind- and sand-shielding protection forests or protection forests for tide shielding and sea encroachment prevention of 500 hectares or more; of production forests of 1,000 hectares or more;

+ Investment projects that require repurposing of land meant for wet rice cultivation during with 02 or more crops of 500 hectares or more;
+ Investment projects involving betting and casino business, excluding business in prize-winning electronic games for foreigners.

+ Nuclear power plant investment projects.

+ Foreign investors’ investment projects in the fields of telecommunications services with network infrastructure, afforestation, publishing, press.
+ Other investment projects subject to investment policy approval by the Prime Minister as stipulated by law.

- Investment projects specified in Clause 3 Article 24 of this Law that require relocation of 20,000 people or more in mountainous areas or 50,000 people or more in other areas.

- Investment projects specified in Clause 5 Article 24 of this Law that conform to the law on cultural heritage, regardless of the land area or population size within protection zone I of monuments recognized by competent authorities as special national monuments on the World Heritage List.

(3) Except the investment projects specified in (1) and (2), the Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee shall grant investment policy approval to the following investment projects:

Investment projects specified in Clauses 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 Article 24 of this Law.
+ Investment projects that request the State to allocate or lease out land without auction of land use rights or bidding to select investors to execute projects using land; projects that request land repurposing in accordance with the law on land.
+ Investment projects that request the State to allocate or lease out land or permit land repurposing in areas which affect national defense and security.

+ Investment projects that request the State to assign sea areas.

+ Investment projects on construction of residential housing (for sale, lease or lease purchase), and urban areas, regardless of the area of land used or population size in a case where the investor has land use rights through an agreement on receipt of land use rights or currently has land use rights as prescribed by the law on housing and law on land.

+  Investment projects, regardless of land area or population size, within areas a restricted development area or within an historic inner area (determined under planning schemes as per the urban and rural planning law) of a special-class urban area;

+ Investment projects on construction and commercial operation of golf courses, except where the construction and commercial operation of a golf course constitute part of a housing or urban development project which is allocated or leased out land through auction of land use rights or bidding to select an investor.

+ Investment projects on construction and commercial operation of infrastructure in industrial parks, export-processing zones and concentrated digital technology zones.

+ Investment projects on construction of new terminals and terminal areas of special seaports, class I seaports.

+ Investment projects on construction of: new airports and aerodromes; runways of airports and aerodromes; international passenger terminals; cargo terminals of airports and aerodromes with a capacity of 01 million tonnes or more per year.

+ New investment projects on passenger air transport business;

+ Investment projects on petroleum processing.

- Investment projects specified in Clause 3 Article 24 of this Law that require relocation of 10,000 people or more in mountainous areas or 20,000 people or more in other areas.

- Investment projects specified in Clause 5 Article 24 of this Law that conform to the law on cultural heritage, regardless of the land area or population size within protection zone I and protection zone II of monuments recognized by competent authorities as national monuments and special national monuments, except protection zone I of special national monuments on the World Heritage List.

- For investment projects which at the same time fall under the authority of 02 or more provincial People's Committees to grant investment policy approval, the Government’s regulations shall be complied with.

(4) For the investment project specified in (3) and executed in an industrial park, export-processing zone, hi-tech zone, concentrated digital technology zone or economic zone in conformity with the planning scheme approved by the competent authority, the management board of such industrial zone, export-processing zone, hi-tech zone or economic zone shall grant the investment policy approval.

(5) The Government shall stipulate application dossiers, sequence and procedures for investment policy approval.