Circular No. 13/2013/TT-BXD on the examination, review, and approval of construction project designs

CIRCULAR

Regulations on reviewing, examining, and approving construction project design.h

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Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2013/NĐ-CP dated June 25, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 6, 2013 of the Government on construction project quality management;

Upon the proposal of the Director of the Construction Activity Management Department;

The Minister of Construction shall issue a Circular stipulating the review, examination, and approval of construction project design.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular sets forth the procedures for reviewing and examining technical designs for projects implementing three-stage design, construction drawings for projects implementing one-stage or two-stage design, and other designs immediately following the basic design as specified in Articles 20 and 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 6, 2013 of the Government on construction quality management (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP).

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

State management agencies in charge of construction; construction project investors; organizations and individuals participating in surveying, designing, and reviewing construction project design, and other related organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. State management agencies in charge of construction assigned by the Minister and the Chairperson of the People's Committee (PC) of provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as specialized agencies on construction) include:

a) Central specialized agencies on construction: agencies under the Ministry of Construction, ministries managing specialized construction works, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Defense;

b) Provincial and centrally-run city specialized agencies on construction: Departments of Construction, Transportation, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Organizations and individuals conducting design reviews include: specialized agencies on construction, organizations and individuals possessing the necessary qualifications to conduct design reviews as prescribed by law.

Article 3. Forms of Design Review, Examination Content, and Approval of Construction Project Design by Investors

1. For projects not falling within the scope defined in Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP:

a) In the case of one-stage design: The investor organizes the examination and submits the construction drawing design along with the economic-technical report on the construction project to the investment decision-maker for approval.

b) In the case of two-stage, three-stage design, or other designs implemented after the basic design: The investor organizes the examination and approves the technical design for three-stage design cases, construction drawing design for two-stage design cases, and other designs implemented after the basic design.

During the examination process, if necessary, the investor may hire organizations or individuals with the necessary qualifications to conduct reviews to serve the examination and approval of the design. The content of the hired review is regulated in Points c, d, đ, and e of Clause 3 of this Article.

2. For projects falling within the scope defined in Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP: The investor sends the dossier to the specialized agency on construction for the review of the technical design for projects implementing three-stage design, construction drawing design for projects implementing one-stage or two-stage design, and other designs immediately following the basic design as stipulated in Articles 4 and 5 of this Circular before proceeding with the approval of the design.

3. The content of the examination of construction project design by the investor includes:

a) Checking the compliance of the design dossier components and specifications with the provisions of the construction contract and relevant laws, including: Design descriptions, design drawings, construction survey documents, maintenance procedures, and other documents as required by law;

b) Evaluating the capacity of consulting organizations and individuals conducting surveys and designs against the requirements of the contract and relevant laws;

c) Assessing the compliance of the design with the basic design or approved design tasks (in the case of one-stage design), the requirements of the construction contract, and relevant laws;

d) Assessing the compliance regarding the scale, technology, key technical parameters, and major economic-technical indicators of the project;

đ) Assessing the compliance with key technical standards and regulations applied;

e) Assessing the safety of load-bearing structures of the entire project;

g) Compliance with environmental protection and fire prevention regulations;

h) Requiring the design contractor to explain, adopt, and revise the design dossier based on the review comments (if any).

4. Approval of construction project design:

a) The approval of each stage of construction project design is carried out according to the provisions of Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 20 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP.

b) Construction drawings must be confirmed by the investor or their authorized representative with a signature and stamp indicating approval according to the Model attached as Appendix 4 to this Circular on each sheet of drawings before being put out for construction, including the case of one-stage design after it has been approved by the competent authority.

5. Individuals organizing the examination, review, and approval of the design are responsible for the results of the examination, review, and approval of the design.

Article 4. Contents of design review for construction projects by specialized agencies on construction review design constructionof the construction worksby the specialized construction authority |||

1. Contents of design review for construction projects that do not use state budget funds:

a) The qualification conditions of organizations and individuals conducting surveying and designing compared to the requirements of the Contract and laws: Check the qualification conditions of the surveying organization and the designing organization; check the qualification conditions of the head of the surveying team, the chief designer, and the main designer.

b) The conformity of the design with technical standards and major standards applicable to the project;

c) The level of safety assurance of the load-bearing structures of the project and other safety requirements, including: The suitability of foundation-design solutions with the geological characteristics of the project, structural features, and safety for adjacent projects; the suitability of structural solutions with the project design, survey results, and functional requirements of the project.

2. Contents of design review for projects using all or part of state budget funds, projects using funds from state budget sources, projects invested with centralized basic construction capital, projects implemented under the Build-Transfer (BT), Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO), Public-Private Partnership (PPP) forms, and projects invested with mixed capital sources:

a) Including the contents prescribed in Points a, b, and c of Clause 1 of this Article;

b) The conformity of the design with the basic design or design assignment already approved (in the case of one-step design);

c) The rationality of the design to ensure cost savings in construction: Checking the application of unit prices and norms in the estimate; evaluating design solutions for cost-saving construction.

3. In cases where specialized agencies on construction designate consulting organizations or individuals to conduct design reviews according to Clause 3 of Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP, they shall proceed as follows:

a) For projects specified in Clause 1 of this Article:

Within five working days, the specialized agency on construction shall notify in writing and transfer the design review submission files to the investor to select consulting organizations with design review advisory functions publicly announced on the Ministry of Construction's website and having sufficient qualifications to conduct design reviews in accordance with the type and level of the project as stipulated by law to sign consultancy contracts for design reviews. The contents of the consultancy contracts signed by the investor must include all the review contents prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. The investor shall report the review results to the specialized agency on construction for management according to the hierarchical division.

b) For projects specified in Clause 2 of this Article:

Within five working days, the specialized agency on construction shall select consulting organizations with design review advisory functions publicly announced on the Ministry of Construction's website and having sufficient qualifications to conduct design reviews in accordance with the type and level of the project as stipulated by law to designate partial or full reviews of the contents prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and notify in writing the investor and the consulting organization to sign consultancy contracts for design reviews. The investor shall report the review results to the specialized agency on construction for consolidation.

4. The specialized agency on construction or the direct reviewing consulting organization shall be responsible for compiling and issuing a notification of the design review results according to Appendix 2 of this Circular and stamping the reviewed design drawings. The design review stamp model is prescribed in Appendix 3 of this Circular. In the review results, it must clearly specify the contents that have not met the requirements and need to be revised before resubmitting for review (if any) before the specialized agency on construction or the service provider stamps the review seal on the file for archiving.

The specialized agency on construction shall notify the investor in writing about the review results of the consulting organization according to Appendix 5 of this Circular for the investor to proceed with subsequent steps.

The construction project investor and the construction project design contractor shall be responsible for completing the construction project design documents according to the review results and the opinions of the specialized agency on construction before deciding to approve the design.

5. Reviewed design drawings stamped shall be returned to the investor, and the investor shall be responsible for storing them in accordance with the law on archives. The investor shall promptly meet the requirements of the specialized agency on construction when reviewing these stored documents. The investor shall submit the design drawing file and estimate file or scanned file (modified according to the review results) to the specialized agency on construction for management.

6. If necessary, the design approver may propose to the specialized agency on construction to review additional contents outside those required to be reviewed as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

7. Organizations and individuals conducting design reviews who wish to be publicly announced on the Ministry of Construction's website must establish a capacity declaration dossier in accordance with the law and register with the Department of Construction and the Ministry of Construction for integration and public announcement.

Article 5. Competence to review construction design of specialized agencies on construction

The following specialized agencies on construction shall directly receive review files, organize design reviews, or accept reports on the results of design reviews conducted by consulting organizations according to Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular.

1. Specialized agencies on construction under the Ministry of Construction shall review:

a) Class I and higher construction projects regardless of funding sources, including residential buildings, public buildings, cement factories, technical infrastructure projects;

b) Class II and III construction projects, including residential buildings, public buildings, cement factories, technical infrastructure projects within investment projects decided by the Minister of Construction;

c) Hazardous solid waste treatment projects regardless of class within investment projects decided by the Minister of Construction;

d) Civil construction projects, construction projects for building materials, important national technical infrastructure projects assigned by the Prime Minister.

2. Specialized agencies on construction under the Ministry of Transport shall review:

a) Class I and higher construction projects regardless of funding sources, including bridges, tunnels, roads; railway projects including urban railways, airports, ship lifts, inland waterway ports, cable car systems for passenger transport;

b) Class II and III construction projects, including bridges, tunnels, roads within investment projects decided by the Minister of Transport;

c) Railway projects including urban railways, airports, ship lifts, inland waterway ports, cable car systems for passenger transport regardless of class within investment projects decided by the Minister of Transport;

d) Important national transportation projects assigned by the Prime Minister.

3. Specialized agencies on construction under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall review:

a) Class I and higher construction projects regardless of funding sources, including water reservoirs, dams, spillways, water intake structures, drainage structures, canals, enclosed pipelines for water conveyance, hydraulic tunnels, dikes, revetments, pumping stations, and other water conservancy projects;

b) All types of construction projects regardless of class, including water reservoirs, dams, spillways, water intake structures, drainage structures, canals, enclosed pipelines for water conveyance, hydraulic tunnels, dikes, revetments, pumping stations, and other water conservancy projects within investment projects decided by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

c) Agricultural and rural development projects of national importance assigned by the Prime Minister.

4. Specialized agencies on construction under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall review:

a) Class I and higher construction projects regardless of funding sources, including power transmission lines, hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants, metallurgical plants, alumina production plants, oil refineries, gas processing facilities, storage facilities and pipeline systems for oil, liquefied petroleum gas, hazardous chemical production and storage facilities, industrial explosives production and storage facilities;

b) Class II and III construction projects, including power transmission lines, hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants, metallurgical plants, alumina production plants within investment projects decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade;

c) Oil refining, gas processing facilities, storage facilities and pipeline systems for oil, liquefied petroleum gas, hazardous chemical production and storage facilities, industrial explosives production and storage facilities regardless of class within investment projects decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade;

d) Important national industrial construction projects assigned by the Prime Minister.

5. Specialized agencies on construction under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall organize design reviews for construction projects in the fields of defense and security according to Clause 4, Article 48 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP.

6. In cases where an investment project includes multiple construction projects with different types and classes, the specialized agency on construction responsible for organizing the design review of the main construction project of the project shall be the agency conducting the design review.

7. Departments of Construction and specialized construction management departments shall conduct design reviews for construction projects within their respective jurisdictions at provincial and centrally-administered city levels as follows:

a) Department of Construction: Class II and III cement factories; construction projects specified in Point a, Point b, and Point e, Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP, except those specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Department of Transport: Construction projects specified in Point d, Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP, except those specified in Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: Construction projects specified in Point đ, Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP, except those specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

d) Department of Industry and Trade: Construction projects specified in Point c, Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP, except cement factories and those specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

8. For large-scale projects (requiring phased design-construction), projects with new technological factors, complex technical elements, or when the investor requests it, reports shall be submitted to specialized agencies on construction to organize reviews of individual project components during the design process.

Article 6. Review, appraisal, and approval of design when repairing, renovating works and changing construction design

1. Review, appraisal, and approval of design when changing construction design

When adjusting the construction design due to changes in: geological conditions of the work, design loads, structural solutions, main materials of the main load-bearing structure, construction organization methods affecting the safety of the work's load-bearing capacity, the design of the changed section or the entire work must be reviewed, appraised, and re-approved according to the provisions of this Circular and relevant laws.

2. For repair and renovation works that require establishing an investment project for construction or a technical and economic report on construction and have the contents of change specified in Clause 1 of this Article, review, appraisal, and approval of the design must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

Article 7. Documents for reviewing construction design

The documents for reviewing design include:

1. For works prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Circular:

a) A request for reviewing construction design in accordance with Appendix No. 1 of this Circular;

b) Decision approving the investment project for construction or document agreeing to the investment proposal for construction (original or certified copy of the investor); foundation design documents approved together with the investment project or design tasks already approved in the case of one-step design; fire prevention and explosion protection review documents, environmental impact assessment reports (if applicable);

c) The investor's comprehensive report on the contents stipulated in Point a and Point b of Clause 1 of Article 20 of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP; the capability conditions of survey contractors and construction design contractors; experience of the chief designer, surveyor, and key designers attached with confirmation signatures and stamps of the investor;

d) Construction survey documents related to design drawings and descriptions as prescribed in Point đ of Clause 1 of this Article (original or certified copy stamped by the investor);

đ) Design drawings and descriptions as prescribed in Article 3 and Article 4 of this Circular (original);

e) Construction cost estimate (original) for works using state budget funds.

2. For works prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular:

Including the contents prescribed in Points b, c, d, and đ of Clause 1 of this Article and other related documents as required by the consulting organization for review.

3. Part of the design description (original):

a) Basis for preparing the design:

- Approved investment construction project or document approving the investment construction proposal, including the list of technical standards and standards applied; or approved design tasks in the case of one-step design.

- Natural condition documents and construction survey documents serving the design;

- Quality status evaluation documents of the work (for repair and renovation works).

b) Construction design description:

- Design solutions along with calculation results used for design: Ground improvement or foundation treatment measures, main load-bearing structure design of the work, fire and explosion prevention and escape safety, engineering system design, infrastructure engineering work, etc.;

- Construction technical guidance for special grade, Grade I, and Grade II works.

4. Part of the drawings (original):

a) Current site plan and work route position on the detailed planning already approved;

b) General site plan (determining construction location, construction area, construction boundary, construction height, etc.);

c) Work design: Plans, elevations, sections of individual components and the entire work; related technology design drawings and construction method design drawings;

d) Ground improvement or foundation treatment, main load-bearing structure, engineering system design, infrastructure engineering work, etc.;

đ) Detailed design of main connections, important connections of the main load-bearing structure and mandatory constructions (constructions for safe use - operation - exploitation, constructions for earthquake resistance, constructions for corrosion and erosion resistance);

e) Fire and explosion prevention and escape design already reviewed by the fire prevention and firefighting police agency (if applicable).

5. For works prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 3, the investor sends one set of documents via postal service or directly to the specialized agency for construction as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular for review before approving the construction design.

Article 8. Time, costs, and fees for construction design review

1. Time for construction design review:

a) Within seven working days from the date of receiving the documents for review, the competent authority on construction shall inspect the documents and issue a written notice to the investor once to supplement and complete the documents (if the documents are incomplete or not in accordance with regulations).

b) The time for starting the construction design review by the competent authority on construction shall be counted from the date when this authority receives all valid documents.

c) For special grade and Grade I projects: The review time shall not exceed forty working days.

d) For other projects except those specified in Points c and đ of Clause 1 of this Article: The review time shall not exceed thirty working days.

đ) For single-step design projects and individual houses: The review time shall not exceed twenty working days.

e) Depending on the workload of re-reviewing, the time for re-reviewing the contents prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 6 shall be decided by the competent authority on construction but shall not exceed the time stipulated in this Article.

2. Fees for construction design review:

a) The level of fees for construction design review by the competent authority on construction shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

b) The investor shall pay the review fee to the competent authority on construction before receiving the review results of the construction project design.

3. Costs for construction design review:

Organizations and individuals conducting reviews of the contents prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 4 of this Circular shall base the payment of costs on the volume of work reviewed according to the regulations of the Ministry of Construction.

4. Review fees and review costs shall be included in the total investment amount and construction budget of the project.

Management and use of review fees and costs shall be carried out in accordance with current laws.

Article 9. Transitional Provisions

1. Projects subject to the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular that have signed contracts and organized construction design reviews before April 15, 2013, the investors shall be responsible for reviewing and supplementing the contents required to be reviewed as prescribed in this Circular to continue organizing the review.

Before approving the design, the investor shall send the review results to the competent authority on construction according to the classification prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular. For projects using state budget funds, within seven working days, the competent authority on construction shall provide written comments on the review results for the investor to have a basis for implementation before approving the design.

2. Projects prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular that have been approved for design from April 15, 2013 until the effective date of this Circular, the investors shall be responsible for sending the review results and the decision approving the design (by mail or directly) to the competent authority on construction according to the classification prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular for management.

Article 10. Provisions on implementation

1. Based on the provisions of Decree No. 15/2013/NĐ-CP and the guidance of this Circular, the Ministry of Construction and ministries managing specialized construction works, provincial People's Committees shall promulgate the review procedures of the competent authority on construction in accordance with the characteristics of the ministry and locality. The competent authority on construction shall publicly post the review procedures on its website and at the document reception location.

2. Ministries managing specialized construction works and municipal construction departments as local lead agencies must compile the results of design review work to supplement the annual statistical table, including: Number of projects reviewed, number of projects requiring design modifications, amount of cost savings after review.

3. This Circular takes effect from September 30, 2013.

4. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, organizations and individuals shall submit their opinions to the Ministry of Construction for consideration, revision, and supplementation to ensure compliance./.