Decision No. 09/2005/QD-BXD on the issuance of the "Regulation on the Application of Foreign Construction Standards in Construction Activities in Vietnam"

DECISION OF THE MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION

Regarding the issuance of the "Regulation on the Application of Foreign Construction Standards in Construction Activities in Vietnam"

THE MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION

On the basis of 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;

Pursuant to Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2004 of the Government on management of construction work quality;

At the request of the Director of the Science and Technology Department and the Director of the Legal Affairs Department,

DECISION:

Article 1. The following decisions are hereby issued together with this decision:

"Regulation on the Application of Foreign Construction Standards in Construction Activities in Vietnam".

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and shall replace the provisions in Circular No. 07/1999/TT-BXD of the Ministry of Construction dated September 23, 1999 on "Guidelines for Management and Application of Construction Technical Standards and Regulations".

Article 3. The Heads of the Ministry's Office, Directors of the Science and Technology Department, Directors of the Legal Affairs Department, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, Directors of Construction Departments, and Heads of relevant agencies and units are responsible for implementing this Decision./.

 

REGULATIONS

 

Application of foreign construction standards

in construction activities in Vietnam

(Issued together with Decision No. 09/2005/QĐ-BXD dated April 7, 2005)

of the Minister of Construction)

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

This Regulation stipulates the application of national-level construction standards of countries around the world, international standard organizations, and regional standard organizations (hereinafter referred to as foreign construction standards) in construction activities within the territory of Vietnam.

Article 2. Applicability

Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals engaged in construction activities within the territory of Vietnam must comply with this Regulation when applying foreign construction standards to construction activities.

Article 3. Principles for Applying Foreign Construction Standards

1. Ensuring the creation of construction works and products that:

a) Are safe for use by people, buildings, and adjacent structures;

b) Meet Vietnam’s regulations on ecological safety and environmental protection;

c) Achieve economic and technical efficiency.

2. Ensuring consistency and feasibility throughout the construction process from design, construction, to acceptance for buildings and in the overall context of the project.

3. Must use relevant data related to specific Vietnamese conditions as prescribed in mandatory construction standards applicable in the following areas:

a) Natural conditions, climate;

b) Geological and hydrological conditions;

c) Seismic zones and seismic intensity levels;

4. Applied foreign construction standards must meet the requirements and provisions of current Vietnamese Construction Standards.

Article 4. State Management of the Application of Foreign Construction Standards

The Ministry of Construction uniformly manages the application of foreign construction standards. Ministries managing specialized construction projects are responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Construction to manage the application of foreign standards for specialized construction projects.

Chapter II

CONDITIONS AND AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL OF APPLICATION

FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

Article 5. Conditions for selecting foreign construction standards for application

Foreign construction standards selected for application in construction activities within the territory of Vietnam must meet the following conditions:

1. Ensuring the principles set forth in Article 3 of this Regulation;

2. They must be current construction standards;

3. The provisions must comply with current Vietnamese Construction Standards;

4. They must be reviewed and decided upon for application by the Investor before preparing the basic design dossier;

5. For projects funded by state budget funds, if there are Vietnamese construction standards in the relevant field, those standards must be used. In special cases where the application of foreign construction standards is required, approval from the Ministry of Construction or the ministry managing specialized construction projects is necessary.

Article 6. Authority for Approval of Application of Foreign Construction Standards

1. Investment Decision Maker

The investment decision maker reviews and has the authority to decide on the application of foreign construction standards that meet the principles and conditions set forth in Articles 3 and 5 of this Regulation.

2. Ministry of Construction

The Ministry of Construction directly issues documents approving the application of foreign construction standards in the following cases:

a) For projects as specified in Clause 5 of Article 5 of this Regulation, applying foreign construction standards in civil engineering, industrial construction (excluding industrial projects managed by the Ministry of Industry), urban infrastructure, and other projects as requested by the Prime Minister.

b) Projects applying foreign construction standards with technical guidance not covered in current Vietnamese Construction Standards.

3. Ministries Managing Specialized Construction Projects

Ministries managing specialized construction projects directly review and issue documents approving the application of foreign construction standards as specified in Clause 5 of Article 5 of this Regulation for specialized construction projects and submit the approval documents to the Ministry of Construction for coordinated management, specifically as follows:

a) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: Water conservancy and dike projects;

b) Ministry of Transport: Transportation projects;

c) Ministry of Industry: Tunnel and mine projects, oil and gas projects, power plants, transmission lines, substations, and other specialized industrial projects.

Chapter III

REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

Article 7. Documents for Registration of Application of Foreign Construction Standards

The investor prepares the documents for registration of application of foreign construction standards, which include:

1. A letter sent to the investment decision maker or the Ministry of Construction or the ministry managing specialized construction projects requesting review and approval for the application of foreign construction standards in construction projects within the territory of Vietnam.

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

a) Original version in the foreign language

b) Translation into Vietnamese.

3. A detailed explanation of the application of these standards, including:

a) Reasons, purpose, and content of the application of foreign standards;

b) Analysis of compliance with the conditions set forth in Article 5 of this Regulation and any accompanying recommendations.

Article 8. Review and Approval of Application of Foreign Construction Standards

1. The investment decision maker organizes the assessment and decides on the application of foreign construction standards according to the authority and scope specified in Clause 1 of Article 6 of this Regulation. If lacking the necessary expertise, they should hire consultants for preliminary review before issuing the document.

2. The competent agency for managing construction standards of each Ministry, which is the Department of Science and Technology, shall be responsible for receiving, examining files, organizing the review and appraisal of the application of foreign construction standards, and submitting to the leadership of the Ministry or authorized by the leadership of the Ministry to issue a document approving or not approving the application of foreign construction standards in construction works in Vietnam.

3. When the file does not meet the conditions for review and appraisal, within five working days from the date of receipt of the file, the competent agency shall issue a document requesting organizations or individuals to supplement and complete the file.

4. The time limit for the competent agency to issue a document approving the application of foreign construction standards shall not exceed fifteen working days from the date of receipt of a valid file as stipulated in Article 7 of this Regulation.

5. The fees for appraisal and costs for reviewing the application of foreign construction standards shall be deducted from the project's budget.

6. The investor decision-maker, specialized ministries managing construction works, when issuing a document approving the application of foreign construction standards for a facility, shall send a set of documents including the approval document, list, and applied standards (in the original language and translated into Vietnamese) to the Ministry of Construction (Department of Science and Technology) for consolidation, monitoring, and management.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 9. Inspection of the Application

The investor decision-maker or the competent authority issuing a document approving the application of foreign construction standards shall be responsible for organizing regular or spot inspections of the application of standards. Investors of construction works applying foreign construction standards shall be responsible for truthfully and fully reporting on the situation of applying foreign standards at their units when inspected.

Upon discovering violations of this Regulation in the application of foreign construction standards, the investor decision-maker or the inspection authority shall be responsible for temporarily suspending the application of standards by issuing a temporary suspension record and requiring the investor to take measures to rectify the violations.

Article 10. Transitional provisions

Construction works and investment projects that have received an approval document for the application of foreign standards from the Ministry of Construction before the effective date of this Regulation shall continue to be implemented according to the agreements recorded in the approved document. Any new requirements arising from these works and projects, and new construction works and investment projects starting from the effective date of this Regulation shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 11. Effectiveness

This Regulation replaces the provisions in Circular No. 07/1999/TT-BXD dated September 23, 1999, of the Ministry of Construction regarding "Guidelines for Managing and Applying Construction Technical Standards and Regulations."