What are application and documentation requirements for and subject matters of assessment of public investment programs in Vietnam?

1. What are application and documentation requirements for and subject matters of assessment of public investment programs in Vietnam?

In Article 17 of Decree 40/2020/ND-CP guiding the Law on Public Investment, application and documentation requirements for and subject matters of assessment of public investment programs are as follows:

1. Application and documentation requirements for assessment of public investment programs:

a) Request or application form for assessment of a public investment program, including program necessity or significance; main objectives and contents of a feasibility study report; recommendation to competent authorities for approval of decisions on public investment programs;

b) Feasibility study report for the public investment program that is made in compliance with clause 1 of Article 44 in the Law on Public Investment;

c) Other relevant documents (if any).

2. The required number of sets of application or request documents for the assessment submitted to the Assessment Council or the authority presiding over the assessment must be 10 sets.

3. Assessment of a national target program or a public investment program shall focus on the followings:

a) Conformance of components of application or request documentation for assessment to laws;

b) Conformity of the program with the investment policy approved by a competent authority;

c) Contents of the feasibility study report for the program, subject to clause 1 of Article 44 in the Law on Public Investment;

d) Appropriacy in terms of funding sources and capacity to balance the investment capital which is assessed by competent authorities; correspondence or compatibility between total investment capital on one side, and the medium-term and annual public investment plans on the other side; structure of capital of the central and local government’s budget and other legitimate investment funds; capital recovery and solvency or debt repayment capacity in case of using borrowed funds.

4. In the course of conducting assessment of public investment programs that focuses on those prescribed in clause 3 of this Article, Assessment Councils or authorities presiding over assessment activities shall perform review and comparison tasks to ensure that they conform to the provisions of investment policy decisions approved by competent authorities; ensure that they conform to indicators related to the size and total investment capital, including requirements under which the investment capital proportion must not exceed the levels prescribed in the investment policy decision;

In case where it is necessary to make any adjustment in policies for investment in public investment programs, the adjustment shall be subject to regulations laid down in Article 34 in the Law on Public Investment and Article 11 herein.

2. What are application and documentation requirements for assessment of public investment projects in Vietnam?

According to Article 18 of Decree 40/2020/ND-CP guiding the Law on Public Investment, application and documentation requirements for assessment of public investment projects are as follows:

1. Application and documentation requirements for the assessment of public investment projects without construction components shall include the followings:

a) Request or application forms for assessment of public investment projects, clearly stating project necessity or significance; main objectives and components of feasibility study reports; recommendation to competent authorities for grant of approval decisions on public investment projects;

b) Feasibility study reports for public investment projects that are made in compliance with Article 44 in the Law on Public Investment;

c) Reports issued by Vietnamese Fatherland Front Committees at any respective level that synthesize opinions from communities where projects are executed with respect to those projects prescribed in Article 74 in the Law on Public Investment;

d) Any other relevant documents that are necessary for the assessment of public investment projects.

2. Application and documentation requirements for the assessment of public investment projects with construction components shall be subject to law on construction and opinions from communities as provided in point c of clause 1 of this Article and other provisions of relevant laws.

3. The required number of sets of application or request documents for the assessment submitted to the Assessment Council or the authority presiding over the assessment shall be 10 sets.

4. Subject matters of the assessment of public investment projects without construction components shall be as follows:

a) Conformance of components of application or request documentation for assessment to laws;

b) Conformity of public investment projects with investment policies approved by competent authorities;

c) Components of feasibility study reports for public investment projects, subject to clause 2 of Article 44 in the Law on Public Investment;

d) Correspondence between total investment capital and allocated investment capital balance according to annual and mid-term investment plans; investment capital proportions, capacity to balance public investment capital and mobilization of other funds and resources for implementation of public investment projects; evaluation of costs of operation, maintenance, care and major overhaul incurred during the period of exploitation of public investment projects;

dd) Widespread effects of public investment projects on development of industries, sectors, territories and localities; on creation of additional budget revenues, employment, income and lives of residents; effects on environment and sustainable development.

5. Subject matters of the assessment of public investment projects with construction components shall be subject to law on construction and include those that have not yet been prescribed in clause 4 of this Article and other provisions of relevant laws.

6. In the course of conducting the assessment of public investment projects that focuses on those prescribed in clause 4 and 5 of this Article, Assessment Councils or authorities presiding over assessment activities shall perform review and comparison tasks to ensure that they conform to the provisions of investment policy decisions approved by competent authorities; ensure that they conform to indicators related to the size and total investment capital, including requirements under which the investment capital proportion must not exceed the levels prescribed in investment policy decisions;

In case where it is necessary to make any adjustment in policies for investment in public investment projects, the adjustment shall be subject to regulations laid down in Article 34 in the Law on Public Investment and Article 11 herein.

Best Regards!