Decree No. 167/1999/NĐ-CP On the Organization and Management of Roadways

DECREE

On Road Management

__________

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated March 20, 1996;

Pursuant to the Traffic Construction Protection Ordinance dated December 2, 1994;

At the proposal of the Minister of Transport,

DECREE:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.

1. This Decree stipulates on the classification of roads, investment capital for roads, and the分级管理 of roads.

2. The roads referred to in this Decree are the infrastructure of transportation serving the movement of people and various types of road transport vehicles.

Article 2. National road systems form an interconnected network under unified State management, regardless of the source of funding for their construction.

Article 3. All domestic and foreign agencies, organizations, individuals, including overseas Vietnamese investing capital in constructing, managing, repairing, and operating road systems in Vietnam must comply with the provisions of this Decree and relevant laws.

Article 4. All organizations and individuals within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, including overseas Vietnamese, have the responsibility to protect and maintain road systems, strictly adhering to regulations concerning the management and operation of road systems.

Chapter II

ROAD MANAGEMENT

Article 5. The Ministry of Transport is responsible before the Government for performing state management functions regarding roads nationwide, including the following contents:

1. Developing strategies, plans, and road system development plans nationwide to serve economic, political, cultural, and social development, ensuring national security and defense; guiding provinces and centrally-administered cities to develop local road network planning and development plans in accordance with the overall national road network development plan;

2. Drafting and submitting to the Government for issuance, or issuing directly within its authority, legal normative documents, standards, economic and technical norms, and other regulations on road management;

3. Submitting to the Government for approval, or approving directly within its authority, road construction projects according to investment and construction management regulations;

4. Inspecting and supervising the implementation of legal regulations on road management and the quality of road construction projects nationwide.

Article 6. Local People's Committees at all levels implement road management, including the following contents:

1. Developing local road development plans consistent with local economic, social, and national defense and security planning, and in accordance with the Ministry of Transport's guidance on the overall strategy and planning for the national road network;

2. Organizing the management and protection of local road systems, protecting road systems passing through the locality according to the law; coordinating with relevant authorities to unify the development plan for underground works in areas where roads pass through;

3. Propagating, educating, and inspecting the implementation of legal regulations on roads within the scope of local management;

4. Directing specialized organizations with state management functions over roads within the locality in accordance with legal regulations and specialized guidance from the Ministry of Transport.

Article 7. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction, and related ministries and sectors within their respective functions, tasks, and powers shall cooperate with the Ministry of Transport in performing state management functions over roads.

Chapter III

CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

Article 8. The road network is divided into the following six systems:

1. The National Highway System (marked as QL) consists of the main trunk roads of the national road network that play a particularly important role in serving the country's economic, political, cultural, and social interests, as well as national security and defense, including:

a) Roads connecting the capital city of Hanoi to centrally-administered cities and provincial administrative centers;

b) Roads from the main axis to international border gates and major border gates (including national ports) and to large industrial zones;

c) Trunk roads connecting the administrative centers of multiple provinces (three or more) which are significant in terms of economy, politics, culture, society, and national security and defense for each region.

2. The Provincial Road System (marked as DT) consists of the main roads within the territory of a province, including roads connecting the provincial capital or provincial administrative center to district administrative centers and trunk roads connecting the provincial administrative center with neighboring provincial administrative centers.

3. The District Road System (marked as DH) consists of roads connecting the district administrative center to village administrative centers or clusters of villages within the district and roads connecting the district administrative center with neighboring district administrative centers.

4. The Commune Road System (marked as DX) consists of roads connecting the commune administrative center to hamlets or villages and roads connecting communes with each other to serve public transportation within the commune.

5. The Urban Road System (marked as DD) consists of traffic roads located within the urban area within the administrative boundaries of cities, towns, and townships.

6. The Special Purpose Road System (marked as DCD) consists of internal roads or roads specifically serving the transportation and movement needs of one or more agencies, enterprises, or private entities.

Article 9. The authority to decide on the classification of road systems is defined as follows:

1. The National Highway System is decided by the Minister of Transport.

2. The Provincial Road System is decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city (hereinafter referred to as provincial level) after obtaining written consent from the Minister of Transport.

3. The Urban Road System is decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level after obtaining written consent from the Ministers of Construction and Transport.

4. The District Road System is decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level.

5. The Commune Road System is decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level.

6. The Special Purpose Road System is decided by the organization or individual owning the special purpose road after obtaining written agreement from the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level where the road is located.

The adjustment of the dedicated road system into one of the five aforementioned road systems shall be carried out according to the authority prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

After deciding on the classification of provincial roads and district roads, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee must report to the Minister of Transport; after deciding on the classification of commune roads, the Chairman of the District People's Committee must report to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT LEVELS OF ROADS

Article 10Central Road Management Authority

The Ministry of Transport uniformly manages state affairs concerning roads throughout the country; directly manages the national highway system. The Vietnam Highway Administration is tasked with directly managing sections of national highways by the Ministry of Transport; it reports to the Minister of Transport for assigning management of certain sections or routes of national highways to provincial people's committees.

Article 11. Local Road Management Authority

1. The Provincial People's Committee manages local road systems in accordance with the law; directly organizes the management of provincial roads and urban roads. The Department of Transport directly manages sections of national highways assigned by the Ministry of Transport and important urban and provincial road routes; it reports to the Provincial People's Committee for decisions on assigning remaining provincial and urban roads to districts for management.

2. The District People's Committee manages roads within its jurisdiction. Specialized agencies of the District People's Committee are tasked with directly managing provincial and urban roads assigned by the Provincial People's Committee; they manage the district road system.

3. The Commune People's Committee manages commune roads within its jurisdiction.

Article 12.

1. Organizations, entities, and individuals must obtain permission from competent authorities and register their dedicated roads with the local Department of Transport before constructing dedicated roads; management and operation must comply with regulations and guidance from specialized management agencies.

2. Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals operating within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam may invest in building roads under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, organizing management and operation of roads in accordance with regulations and guidance from specialized management agencies.

Chapter V

ROAD INVESTMENT CAPITAL

Article 13. Road investment capital includes:

Capital for new construction, restoration, improvement, and upgrading of roads;

Capital for road management and repair.

Road investment capital management is implemented in accordance with current state regulations.

Article 14. Sources of road investment capital

1. Investment capital for the national highway system is allocated from the central budget and other sources.

2. Investment capital for the provincial and district road systems is mainly sourced from local budgets and other sources.

3. Investment capital for the commune road system is primarily raised through contributions of local residents' finances and labor, commune budgets, and partial support from higher-level budgets, along with other sources.

Article 15Road management and repair capital is used for the following purposes:

1. Regular management and repair;

2. Periodic repair;

3. Emergency repair.

The Ministry of Transport coordinates with the Ministry of Finance to specify the management of investment capital for road management and repair based on current state regulations.

Article 16. The Ministry of Planning and Investment informs the Provincial People's Committees of the state budget funds for new construction, restoration, improvement, and upgrading of local road systems, while simultaneously notifying the Ministry of Transport.

Article 17. The Ministry of Finance informs the Provincial People's Committees of state funds for the management and repair of local road systems, while simultaneously notifying the Ministry of Transport.

Article 18. Investment capital for road construction projects under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Build-Transfer (BT) models is implemented in accordance with current state regulations.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 19. This Decree takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

Previous provisions contrary to this Decree are abolished.

Article 20The Ministry of Transport leads and collaborates with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Construction, and related ministries and sectors to guide the implementation of this Decree.

Article 21. Ministers of Ministries, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees, and Chairmen of Municipal People's Committees directly under the central government are responsible for implementing this Decree.