Regulations on the application of standards, materials, and new technologies in the construction activities in Vietnam

Regulations on the application of standards, materials, and new technologies in the construction activities in Vietnam​ (Image from the internet)

On December 30, 2024, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 175/2024/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to implement Law on Construction 2014 concerning the management of construction activities.

Regulations on the application of standards, materials, and new technologies in the construction activities in Vietnam

In Article 10 of Decree 175/2024/ND-CP, regulations on the application of standards, materials, and new technology in the latest construction activities are prescribed as follows:

(1) Standards applied to the project must be reviewed and approved by the investment decision-maker at the time of investment decision and must be presented in the project approval decision or in a separate document. During project implementation, if necessary, the investor may propose changes or additions to the applied standards when such changes or additions do not alter the contents requiring project adjustment according to the regulations and must obtain written consent from the investment decision-maker as a basis for implementation.

(2) The selection and application of foreign standards, basic standards must comply with the provisions of the Law on Construction 2014 and other related legal provisions.

(3) When applying foreign standards:

- The basic design explanation, construction design following the basic design, or technical guidance (if any), in accordance with the detail level of the design step, must include an assessment of compliance with national technical regulations and relevance to related standards;

- Priority is given to using widely applied foreign standards.

(4) When applying basic standards:

- The application of basic standards must include an explanation of compliance with national technical regulations and compatibility, synchronization with related standards;

- The publication of basic standards must strictly comply with the legal regulations and processes prescribed in other related laws.

(5) The use of new materials and technology must adhere to national technical regulations, be compatible with related standards, and ensure feasibility, sustainability, safety, and efficiency.

Classification of investment construction projects under new regulations in Vietnam from December 30, 2024

According to Article 5 of Decree 175/2024/ND-CP, construction investment projects as prescribed in Article 49 of Law on Construction 2014, which are amended and supplemented in Clause 8, Article 1 of Law on Construction Revision 2020, are classified to manage construction activities as per the regulations in Decree 175/2024/ND-CP as follows:

- According to the functionality, specialized nature, management purpose of the project, and the works within the project, construction investment projects are classified as prescribed in Appendix X of Decree 175/2024/ND-CP.

- According to the source of funds used, form of investment, construction investment projects are classified into: projects using public investment funds, projects using state funds outside public investment, PPP projects, and projects using other funds. Construction investment projects using mixed funds from multiple sources mentioned above are classified as follows:

+ Projects using a portion of public investment funds are considered public investment projects, managed under public investment law;

+ PPP projects using public investment funds are managed under the legal regulations on PPP;

+ Projects using mixed funds including state funds outside public investment and other funds: in cases where the proportion of state funds outside public investment exceeds 30% or is more than 500 billion VND within the total investment, they are managed according to regulations for projects using state funds outside public investment; otherwise, they are managed according to regulations for projects using other funds. The proportion of state funds outside public investment is decided by the investment decision-maker as a basis for preparing the construction investment feasibility study report, construction economic-technical report.

- Construction investment projects requiring only a construction economic-technical report include:

+ Construction investment projects for religious purposes;

+ New construction, renovation, or upgrading projects with a total investment not exceeding 20 billion VND (excluding compensation, site clearance, and land levy costs), except for projects constructing cultural heritage works according to cultural heritage law;

+ Group C construction investment projects aimed at maintenance, repair, upkeep;

+ Dredging, maintaining public maritime navigation channels, inland waterways projects;

+ Construction investment projects mainly involving the procurement of goods, service provision, equipment installation, or repair, non-structural strengthening projects with construction costs (excluding equipment costs) below 10% of the total investment and not exceeding 10 billion VND (excluding national important projects, group A projects, PPP investment method projects);

+ The investment decision-maker may determine the preparation of a construction investment feasibility report for the projects mentioned when the project has specific technical construction or technology design requirements necessitating a basic design; these projects do not require appraisal by a specialized construction agency.

The investment decision-maker is responsible for organizing the appraisal of the construction investment feasibility study report, while the investor is responsible for organizing the appraisal of the design implementation following the basic design, ensuring that appraisal contents comply with legal provisions.

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