Recipients of clean water supply infrastructure asset handover in Vietnam

Recipients of clean water supply infrastructure asset handover in Vietnam (Source: Internet)

1. What are clean water supply infrastructure assets?

According to Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP, “clean water supply infrastructure assets” (including land attached to clean water supply infrastructure assets) include: water extraction work items, water processing work items, clean water supply pipeline network, and related auxiliary work items.

2. Recipients of clean water supply infrastructure asset handover in Vietnam

* Entities receiving centralized clean water supply infrastructure assets in rural areas

Entities receiving centralized clean water supply infrastructure assets in rural areas are specified in Clause 1, Article 5 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP, including:

- Public service providers that also provide clean water.

- Commune-level People’s Committees.

- State-owned enterprises, state-invested joint-stock companies (hereinafter referred to as “state-owned enterprises”) that produce and sell clean water in accordance with regulations and law on investment, enterprises, clean water production and sale.

- Clean water supply authorities.

* Entities receiving clean water supply infrastructure assets in urban areas

Specifically, in Clause 2, Article 5 of Decree No. 43/2022/ND-CP, the entities receiving clean water supply infrastructure assets in urban areas include:

- Public service providers that also provide clean water.

- State-invested enterprises that produce, sell clean water in accordance with regulations and law on investment, enterprises, and clean water production and sale.

- Clean water supply authorities.

3. Methods of handing over clean water supply infrastructure assets in Vietnam

Methods of handing over clean water supply infrastructure assets in Vietnam include:

- Record clean water supply infrastructure assets as an increase in assets of public service providers in accordance with Point a, Clause 1, Point a, Clause 2, Article 5 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP, commune-level People’s Committees in accordance with Point b, Clause 1, Article 5 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP.

- Record clean water supply infrastructure assets as an increase in state budget for state-invested enterprises in accordance with Point c Clause 1, Point b Clause 2 of Article 5 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP in order to produce and sell clean water in accordance with regulations and law on management and use of state capital to invest in production and sale at enterprises, regulations and law on enterprises and relevant law provisions.

- Hand clean water supply infrastructure assets to water supply authorities in order to produce utilization plans by:

+ Selling assets to organizations via auctions to manage, use, and utilize assets for clean water production and sale in case the handover mentioned under Points a and b of Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP cannot be implemented;

+ Leasing the right to utilize or temporarily transfer the right to utilize clean water supply infrastructure assets if the assets have been transferred to commune-level People’s Committees resulting in ineffective management, use, and utilization.

(Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP)

4. Rules in management, use, and utilization of clean water supply infrastructure assets in Vietnam

According to Article 4 of Decree 43/2022/ND-CP, the rules in management, use, and utilization of clean water supply infrastructure assets

- All clean water supply infrastructure assets invested and managed by the State shall be handed over to managing entities by the State as per the law.

The handover of clean water supply infrastructure assets to managing entities must rely on specific conditions regarding scale of water supply and treatment work items, technology, socio-economic characteristics of each administrative division, and other conditions according to this Decree.

Land allocation, land lease, land levy collection, land levy exemption and reduction, and management, use of land attached to clean water supply infrastructure assets shall conform to land laws.

- Provincial People’s Committees shall decide to hand state management responsibilities for clean water supply infrastructure assets in the provinces and cities over to clean water supply authorities affiliated to provincial People’s Committees (hereinafter referred to as “clean water supply authorities”) in a manner that guarantees consistency, specifies entitlement and responsibilities of each clean water supply authority, responsibilities for cooperation between clean water supply authorities, and adheres to asset scales and socio-economic characteristics of the provinces and cities.

- The Government shall encourage private sector involvement in order to mobilize and diversify resources for maintenance, development, and utilization of clean water supply infrastructure assets.

- Clean water supply infrastructure assets shall be recorded and accounted in full in terms of both value and tangible assets; subject to asset depreciation and maintenance regulations as per the law. Agencies, entities, and enterprises assigned to manage clean water supply infrastructure assets and relevant organizations shall keep accurate accounts as per applicable laws.

- The management, use, and utilization of clean water supply infrastructure assets must be public and transparent; serving the improvement of lives and health of the general public and social security; supervised, investigated, inspected, and audited and all violations of the law regarding management, use, and utilization of clean water supply infrastructure assets must be promptly and strictly penalized.

- Regarding clean water supply infrastructure assets that are no longer capable of providing water or no longer conforming to planning approved by competent authorities, the expropriation of land attached to assets shall conform to land laws and relevant law provisions.

Thanh Rin

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