DECISION

PROMULGATING THE REGULATION ON APPLICATION OF FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS TO CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES IN VIETNAM

THE MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION

- Pursuant to the Governments Decree No.36/2003/ND-CP of 4th April 2003 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structures of the Ministry of Construction;

- Pursuant to the Governments Decree No.209/2004/ND-CP of 16th December 2004 on the management of the quality of construction works;

- At the proposals of the director of the Science and Technology Department and the legal Department,

DECIDES:

Article 1: To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation on application of foreign construction standards to construction activities in Vietnam.

Article 2: This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and replaces the provisions in the Construction Ministrys Circular No.07/1999/TT-BXD of September 1999, guiding the management and application of construction standards and technical norms.

Article 3: The director of the Office, the director of the Science and Technology Department and the director of the Legal Department, of the Ministry, the presidents of the provincial/municipal Peoples Committees, the directors of the provincial/municipal Construction Services, and the heads of the concerned agencies and units shall have to implement this Decision.

REGULATION

ON APPLICATION OF FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS TO CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES IN VIETNAM
(Promulgated together with the Construction Ministers Decision No.09/2005/QD-BXD of April 7, 2005)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: Scope of regulation

This Regulation provides for the application of national-level construction standards of countries in the world, international standardization organizations and regional standardization organizations (hereinafter referred collectively to as foreign construction standards) to construction activities in the Vietnamese territory.

Article 2: Subjects of application

Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals conducting construction activities in the Vietnamese territory, when applying foreign construction standards to their construction activities, must abide by this Regulation.

Article 3: Principles for application of foreign construction standards

1. To ensure that the created construction works and products:

a. are safe for human use, for the works and adjacent works;

b. meet Vietnams regulations on ecological safety and environmental protection;

c. yield econo-technical efficiency.

2. To ensure synchronism and feasibility in construction process, from designing, construction to pre-acceptance test of works, a in the work entirely.

3. To compulsorily use input data related to Vietnams particular conditions stipulated in compulsorily applied construction standards in the following domains:

a. Natural and climatic conditions;

b. Geological and hydrological conditions;

c. Classification of seismic zones and seismic degrees.

4. Foreign construction standards to be applied must satisfy the requirements and regulations of current Vietnamese construction standards.

Article 4: State management over application of foreign construction standards

The Construction Ministry shall uniformly manage the application of foreign construction standards. The ministries managing specialized construction works shall have to coordinate with the Construction Ministry in managing the application of foreign construction standards to construction of specialized works.

Chapter II

CONDITIONS AND COMPETENCE FOR APPROVAL OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

Article 5: Conditions under which foreign construction standards shall be selected for application

To be selected for application to construction activities in the Vietnamese territory, foreign construction standards must meet the following conditions:

1. They must ensure the principles defined in Article 3 of this Regulation;

2. They must be the current construction standards;

3. The regulations must satisfy current Vietnamese construction standards;

4. They must be considered for selection and decided for application by investors before basic design dossiers are made;

5. For State budget-funded works, Vietnamese construction standards must be used if such standards are available in relevant domains. In special cases where foreign construction standards need to be applied, such must be approved by the Construction Ministry or the ministry managing specialized construction works.

Article 6: Competence to approve the application of foreign construction standards

1. Investment deciders

Investment deciders shall consider and have the competence to decide on the application of foreign construction standards which meet the principles and conditions stated in Articles 3 and 5 of this Regulation.

2. The Construction Ministry

The Construction Ministry shall directly approve in writing the application of foreign construction standards in the following cases:

a. For works defined in Clause 5, Article 5 of this Regulation, foreign construction standards shall apply to construction of civil works and industrial works (except for industrial works managed by the Industry Ministry), urban technical infrastructures, and works at the Prime Ministers request.

b. Works involving the application of foreign construction standards which contain technical guidance not yet mentioned in Vietnamese construction standards.

3. Ministry managing specialized construction works

Ministries managing specialized construction works shall directly consider, and approve in writing the application of foreign construction standards, provided for in Clause 5, Article 5 of this Regulation, to specialized construction works, and send dossiers of approval to the Construction Ministry for coordinated management, concretely as follows:

a. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: irrigation works and dykes:

b. The ministry of Transport: traffic works;

c. The Ministry of Industry: mines, oil and gas works, electric power plants, power transmission lines, transformer stations and specialized industrial works.

Chapter II

CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

Article 7: Dossiers of registration for application of foreign construction standards

Dossiers of registration for application of foreign construction standards shall be made by investors, each comprising:

1. An official dispatch sent to the investment decider, the Construction Ministry or the ministry managing specialized construction works, requesting the consideration and approval of application of foreign construction standards to construction of works in the Vietnamese territory.

2. A list of numeral codes and contents of enclosed foreign standards, including:

a. The foreign language version

b. The Vietnamese version.

3. A written explanation on the application of the above-said standards, clearly stating:

a. Reasons, purposes and contents of the application of foreign standards;

b. Analysis of satisfaction of conditions defined in Article 5 of this Regulation, and enclosed recommendations (if any).

Article 8: Consideration and approval of application of foreign construction standards

1. Investment deciders shall organize evaluation and decide on application of foreign construction standards according to the competence and scope defined in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Regulation. In cases where they are professionally incapable, they shall hire consultants to verify them before issuing documents thereon.

2. Ministries construction standard-managing agencies being the Science and Technology Departments shall have to receive and examine dossiers, consider and evaluate the application of foreign construction standards, then propose the ministries leaderships to issue or issue by themselves under authorization of the ministries leaderships, documents approving or disapproving the application of foreign construction standards to construction works in Vietnam.

3. If the dossiers fail to fully meet the conditions for consideration and evaluation, within 5 working days after receiving the dossiers, the managing agencies shall request in writing organizations or individuals to supplement and complete the dossiers.

4. The time limit fore the managing agencies to approve in writing the application of foreign construction standards shall not exceed 15 working days counting from the date of receiving the complete and valid dossiers stated in Article 7 of this Regulation.

5. The fee for evaluation and the expenses for verification for application of foreign construction standards shall be deducted from the projects funds.

6. Investment deciders and ministries managing specialized construction works, when approving in writing the application of foreign construction standards by establishments, should send to the Construction Ministry (the Science and Technology Department) a set of dossiers, comprising a written approval, a list of applied standards (the foreign language copies and the Vietnamese versions) for sum-up in service of monitoring and management.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 9: Examination of application

Investment deciders or agencies competent to approve in writing the application of foreign construction standards shall have to regularly or extraordinarily examine the application of the standards.

Investors of works with applied foreign construction standards shall have to truthfully and fully report on the application of foreign construction standards in their respective units upon examination.

When detecting violations of this Regulation in the application of foreign construction standards, investment deciders or examining agencies shall have to make records on suspending the application of the standards and request investors to take measures to remedy violations.

Article 10: Transition handling

Construction investment works and projects, to which the application of foreign construction standards had been approved in writing by the Construction Ministry before the effective date of this Regulation, shall continue to be carried out under the agreement in approved documents. For newly arising problems in the above-said works and projects as well as new construction investment works and projects after the effective date of this Regulation, the provisions of this Regulation shall apply.

Article 11: Implementation effect

This Regulation replaces the relevant provisions of the construction Ministrys Circular No.07/1999/TT-BXD of September 23, 1999, guiding the management and application of construction standards and technical regulations.