Circular No. 08/2006/TT-BXD guiding the maintenance work of construction projects

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Maintenance Work on Construction Projects

                                                                                    ____________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2004 of the Government on Quality Management of Construction Projects;

Pursuant to Decree No. 90/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 6, 2006 of the Government guiding the implementation of the Law on Housing;

Pursuant to Decree No. 36/2003/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction,

The Ministry of Construction hereby guides the implementation of maintenance work on construction projects as follows.

I. GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Scope and Objectives

This Circular guides organizations and individuals related to the content and procedures for implementing maintenance work on construction projects for all types of projects funded from various sources and forms of ownership within the territory of Vietnam.

2. Purpose of maintenance work

Maintenance work aims to maintain the architectural characteristics and functionality of the project ensuring that the project operates and is utilized in accordance with design requirements throughout its operational period.

3. Documents and materials serving maintenance work

3.1. Documents and materials serving maintenance work on construction projects include:

a) Completion documents of construction projects (legal documents and quality management materials);

b) Logs tracking the operation or usage process of the project;

c) Maintenance procedures for construction projects;

d) Documents and materials for regular inspection of the project or parts of the project during its operational period;

đ) Technical standards for maintenance of construction projects.

3.2. Documents and materials serving maintenance work must be retained and updated promptly with any changes to the project.

4. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals related to maintenance work

4.1. For design contractors: Establish maintenance procedures for construction projects.

4.2. For owners and managers:

a) Organize the implementation of maintenance according to the project's maintenance procedures established by the design contractor;

b) Encourage the application of this Circular for individual residential buildings in rural areas, remote regions, and houses with less than two floors not located on main streets.

4.3. For Ministries managing specialized construction projects:

a) Issue guidelines for organizations and individuals to implement laws on maintenance of construction projects and issue technical standards and regulations for maintenance of specialized construction projects managed by the Ministry nationwide;

b) Inspect and urge local authorities to manage state administration regarding maintenance of construction projects.

4.4. For Provincial People's Committees:

Provincial People's Committees are responsible for managing state administration regarding maintenance of construction projects within their administrative boundaries. The Department of Construction assists the Provincial People's Committee in uniformly managing maintenance of construction projects in the area. Departments managing specialized construction projects have the responsibility to manage maintenance of specialized construction projects.

a) For the Department of Construction:

- Submit to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for issuance of documents guiding the implementation of legal regulations on maintenance of construction projects in the area; carry out inspections on compliance with regulations on maintenance of construction projects for projects invested in regardless of funding source from level III to special level, projects affecting urban architecture, and projects where accidents may cause disasters to people, property, and the environment.

- Assist the Provincial People's Committee in compiling and reporting annually to the Ministry of Construction on maintenance of civil and industrial construction projects, urban infrastructure regardless of funding source from level III to special level, and projects affecting urban architecture managed by localities.

b) For Departments managing specialized construction projects including the Department of Industry, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Department of Transport (or the Department of Transportation and Public Works), they are responsible for annual inspections of compliance with maintenance regulations and reporting to the Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry managing specialized construction projects such as transportation, water conservancy, and industry regardless of funding source within the administrative boundaries managed by localities.

c) For the Department of Culture and Information, it leads and coordinates with the Department of Construction to guide and inspect the management of maintenance of construction projects recognized as national historical and cultural relics within their jurisdiction according to regulations.

Annually, the Department of Culture and Information reports to the Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Construction on maintenance of construction projects recognized as national historical and cultural relics.

5. Levels of maintenance for construction projects

Maintenance work on construction projects is carried out at the following levels of maintenance:

5.1. Routine maintenance and upkeep: conducted regularly to prevent damage to individual components of the project.

5.2. Minor repairs: conducted when there is damage to some components of the project to restore the initial quality of those components.

5.3. Intermediate repairs: conducted when there is damage or deterioration to some parts of the project to restore the initial quality of those parts.

5.4. Major repairs: conducted when there is extensive damage or deterioration to multiple parts of the project to restore the initial quality of the entire project.

6. Sources of funds for maintenance work

6.1. For public offices where the manager is an administrative agency: the funds for maintenance are taken from regular expenses from the state budget.

6.2. For public offices where the manager is an administrative service agency: part of the funds for maintenance are taken from regular expenses from the state budget, and part is taken from self-generated funds from revenue-generating activities.

6.3. Apartment buildings: the source of funds for maintenance is regulated by the Law on Housing and Decree No. 90/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 6, 2006 of the Government.

6.4. Other civil and industrial works: The owner and the management user must bear the costs for maintenance themselves.

6.5. Specialized works:

 a) Transportation works: The source of funds for maintenance is regulated by Government Decree No. 168/2003/NĐ-CP dated December 24, 2003, and guiding documents of the Ministry of Transport.

circulars of the Ministry of Transport.

 b) Other specialized works shall be specifically regulated by the Government and Ministries managing specialized construction works.

II. PROCEDURE AND ORGANIZATION OF MAINTENANCE WORKS FOR CONSTRUCTIONS

1. Implementation procedures

Maintenance work for construction projects shall be carried out according to the maintenance procedure. The content of the maintenance procedure must comply with the regulations stipulated in the Standard on Construction Project Maintenance. The maintenance process includes the following steps:

1.1. For newly constructed projects, maintenance shall be conducted according to the procedure established by the contractor.

1.2. For projects currently in use but without a maintenance procedure, the project investor and the management user must hire an organization with the necessary qualifications to inspect the quality of the project, assess its quality, and establish a maintenance procedure for the project.

1.3. Inspection and evaluation of the project's quality:

The project investor and the management user must organize inspections to evaluate the quality of the project in order to prevent deterioration. Inspection activities are carried out at the following times:

 a) Regular inspection: Conducted by the owner and the management user to promptly identify signs of deterioration.

 b) Periodic inspection: Carried out by organizations and specialists with appropriate capabilities corresponding to the type and level of the project, as required by the project investor and the management user.

The time for periodic inspection is specified as follows:

- Not more than once every three years for objects such as theaters, cinemas, circuses, schools, hospitals, sports stadiums, exhibition halls, supermarkets, and similar construction projects, as well as projects affected by high environmental impacts.

- Not more than once every five years for other civil projects (high-rise residential buildings, hotels, offices, working places), industrial building material projects, urban technical infrastructure projects.

- Not more than once a year for cultural heritage sites classified at the national and world levels.

After receiving the results of periodic inspection, depending on the actual condition of the project's quality, the owner or the management user decides on the appropriate maintenance level.

 c) Unplanned inspection (unscheduled inspection): Conducted after unusual incidents (floods, fires, earthquakes, major collisions, etc.), repairs, or when there is doubt about the operational capacity after detailed inspection without clear reasons or when higher loads need to be handled. This work must be carried out by experts and organizations with the necessary qualifications.

1.4. The owner and the management user shall carry out maintenance work for construction projects themselves (if they have the necessary qualifications) or select organizations or individuals with the necessary qualifications to perform maintenance work according to the maintenance levels.

1.5. Supervision, acceptance, and warranty of maintenance work:

 a) The owner and the management user must organize supervision and acceptance of maintenance work according to the provisions of the Construction Law, Government Decrees guiding implementation, and the contents of contracts signed with contractors performing maintenance work. In cases where they lack the necessary qualifications, the management user of the project must hire consulting organizations with the necessary qualifications to supervise construction and accept maintenance work.

 b) For housing projects, maintenance work must comply with Articles 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, and 82 of the Housing Law.

c) The warranty period for maintenance work starts from the date the owner and the management user sign the acceptance certificate for maintenance work to put it into use and is defined as follows:

- Not less than six months for all types of projects undergoing minor repair and maintenance.

- Not less than twenty-four months for all types of projects undergoing medium and large-scale repairs.

1.6. The warranty cost for maintenance work is implemented according to Article 29 of Government Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2004, on the management of construction project quality.

2. Implementation Organization:

2.1. The owner and the management user must prepare economic and technical reports for projects with repair costs under seven billion dong and develop investment projects for those with repair costs over seven billion dong to submit for approval by authorized persons. If they lack the necessary qualifications, the owner and the management user must hire consulting organizations with the necessary qualifications to perform these tasks. For maintenance work at the repair and maintenance level, the owner and the management user must prepare a budget consistent with the maintenance fund and obtain approval from the competent authority.

2.2. For maintenance work with costs under one billion dong, the owner and the management user may not establish a project management board and can use their own professional staff to manage and direct the project or hire professionals and experienced personnel to assist in managing the project's implementation.

 2.3. When carrying out maintenance work that does not change the architectural design, load-bearing structure, and safety of the project, the owner and the management user do not need to apply for a construction permit.

 2.4. Maintenance work must meet requirements for safety, hygiene, and the environment:

 a) Absolutely ensure safety for adjacent structures, workers, users, and transportation and operation on the project;

 b) Select reasonable construction methods and times to minimize noise, smoke, dust, vibration, etc., caused by vehicles, machinery, and other construction equipment during maintenance activities;

 c) Comply with the Environmental Protection Law; labor safety regulations; construction safety regulations; labor safety regulations for using construction machinery and equipment.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular replaces Circular No. 05/2001/TT-BXD and shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, central agencies of social organizations, State-owned Corporations, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

3. In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, they are requested to report in writing to the Ministry of Construction for study and resolution./.