Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment 2020: Changes in the authority to issue decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects in Vietnam

Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment 2020: Changes in the authority to issue decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects in Vietnam (Illustration image)

Article 12 of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment 2020 stipulates the authority to issue decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects in Vietnam as follows:

1. The National Assembly of Vietnam shall issue decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects that meet one of the following criteria:

- Using public investment capital worth 10,000 billion dong or more;

- Having substantial environmental impacts or posing potential risks in making serious environmental impacts, including nuclear power plants; using land subject to the requirement for conversion of uses from land for cultivating specialized forests, upstream protection forests or border protection forests which covers an area of 50 hectares or more; from land for protective forests used as wind or sand screens, wave breakers, or sea reclamation land, which covers at least 500 hectares; from land for production forests which covers a minimum area of 1,000 hectares;    

- Using land subject to the requirement for conversion of uses from arable land covering an area of 500 hectares or more for growing wet rice during at least two cropping seasons;

- Resettling at least 20,000 inhabitants in mountainous areas or at least 50,000 inhabitants in other regions;

- Requiring special legal frameworks or policies subject to the National Assembly's decisions.

2. Except for the projects specified in (1), the Prime Minister of Vietnam shall issue decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects satisfying one of the following criteria:

- Resettling at least 10,000 inhabitants in mountainous areas or at least 20,000 inhabitants in other regions;

- Using central budget capital managed by ministries or central agencies with total investment equivalent to that in Group A projects in accordance with the law on public investment, or using ODA loans and preferential loans from foreign sponsors;

- Investment in new construction: airports and airfields; runways of airports and airfields; passenger terminals of international airports; cargo terminals of airports and airfields with an annual cargo handling performance of 1 million tonnes or more;

- Investment in new construction: harbors or port areas inside special seaports; wharves and port areas inside grade-I seaports with total investment equivalent to that in Group A projects in accordance with the law on public investment.

3. Ministers, Heads of central authorities, and other agencies in Vietnam shall issue decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects under their management, except for the projects specified in (1) and (2).

4. Provincial People’s Councils in Vietnam shall be accorded authority to make decisions on investment guidelines of PPP projects under their jurisdiction, except for the projects specified in (1) and (2).

Note: In case of adjustment in investment guidelines of PPP projects, the competent authority shall make a decision on on the adjustment and is responsible for its decision.

More details may be found in the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment 2020 effective from January 01, 2021.

Ty Na

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