Decision No. 3809/1999/QD-BGTVT on amending and supplementing certain provisions of the regulations on managing inland waterway ports and wharfs, issued pursuant to Decision No. 2046/QD/PC dated August 6, 1996 of the Minister of Transport.

Pursuant to …;

Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Rules on Management of Inland Waterway Ports and Wharves, Issued Pursuant to

Decision No. 2046 QĐ/PC dated August 6, 1996 of the Minister of Transport

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THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 22/CP dated March 22, 1994, stipulating the tasks, powers, responsibilities for state management and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

On the basis of Decree No. 40/CP dated July 5, 1996 of the Government on Ensuring Order and Safety in Inland Waterway Traffic and Decree No. 77/1998/NĐ-CP dated September 26, 1998 of the Government amending and supplementing Decree No. 40/CP;

Considering the proposal of the Director of Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Head of Legal Department,

DECISION:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Rules on Management of Inland Waterway Ports and Wharves issued pursuant to Decision No. 2046 QĐ/PC dated August 6, 1996 of the Minister of Transport as follows:

1 - Article 2 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 2.

These rules apply to organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, investing, constructing, and operating inland waterway ports and wharves (including dedicated ports and wharves); vessels operating within port and wharf waters.

These rules do not apply to coastal ports and dedicated inland waterway ports of security and defense forces; ferry wharves and river passenger wharves."

2 - Article 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 4.

1- Ports and wharves may only operate when they have been granted an operation permit by the competent state management authority. The operation permit takes the following forms:

- Decision announcing an inland waterway port;

- Operation permit for an inland waterway wharf

The model for the Decision announcing an inland waterway port and the model for the Operation Permit for an inland waterway wharf shall be uniformly applied throughout the country according to Appendix 2 and 3 (supplemented) of these rules, attached hereto.

2 - Conditions for announcing or granting an Operation Permit for ports and wharves:

a - The port or wharf must not be located in areas prohibited from construction under current regulations; its location must have stable topography (except floating wharves), favorable hydrological conditions, sufficient depth and width for safe vessel entry and exit without affecting the order and safety of inland waterway traffic;

b - Port and wharf structures must ensure safety for cargo handling or passenger embarkation and disembarkation; must have sufficient equipment for vessel mooring; must have lights with adequate brightness (if operating at night). If handling dangerous goods, there must also be sufficient safety conditions as prescribed for such goods;

c - There must be navigational aids to define the port and wharf waters as prescribed.

3 - During operation, ports and wharves must meet the safety conditions set out in Clause 2 of this Article; must possess all valid documents as stipulated in Articles 12 and 13 (amended) of these rules and other relevant laws (if applicable); must comply fully with state management regulations for ports and wharves; must cooperate and facilitate the work of the Inland Waterway Port Authority in performing state management tasks at the port or wharf."

3 - Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 7.

The competent authority issuing the Decision to announce and grant the Operation Permit for ports and wharves is specified as follows:

1- The Minister of Transport issues the Decision to announce inland waterway ports capable of receiving foreign vessels;

2- The Director of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration issues the Decision to announce inland waterway ports and grants the Operation Permit for wharves or clusters of wharves handling cargo on inland waterway routes directly managed by the Administration;

3- The Director of the Department of Transport, Department of Transport and Public Works: - Issues the Decision to announce inland waterway ports and grants the Operation Permit for wharves or clusters of wharves handling cargo on inland waterway routes under local management (including those entrusted to localities by central authorities);

- Issues the Decision to announce inland waterway ports and grants the Operation Permit for wharves or clusters of wharves handling passengers on all inland waterway routes within their jurisdictional area."

4 - Article 9 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 9.

In these rules, the following terms are understood as follows:

1 - "Inland waterway port" is a transportation infrastructure on inland waterways, constructed for vessels to enter and exit for cargo handling or passenger embarkation and disembarkation.

2 - "Inland waterway wharf" is a transportation infrastructure on inland waterways utilizing natural conditions or temporarily reinforced for vessels to enter and exit for cargo handling or passenger embarkation and disembarkation.

3 - "Floating wharf" is a type of inland waterway wharf placed at a stable position on water not adjacent to the shore."

5 - Article 11 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 11:

Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, engaged in business operations of managing and operating inland waterway ports and wharves must be established and registered for business in accordance with the law.

6 - Article 12 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 12.

Procedures for Investment Construction and Announcement of Inland Waterway Ports:

1 - For newly constructed ports:

Organizations and individuals wishing to invest in constructing an inland waterway port (hereinafter referred to as the investor) must, in addition to completing investment construction procedures as prescribed by current regulations, also obtain permission from the competent transport management authority through the following procedures.

a - During the investment preparation phase:

The investor submits to the competent authority responsible for announcing the port as stipulated in Article 7 (amended) of these rules a report on the investment and construction of the port, including:

- The proposed scale and location of the port construction, the scope of the port waters;

- The operational plan;

If approved, the investor proceeds with the investment construction procedures as prescribed. After completing the investment construction procedures, the investor must submit supplementary plans of the port waters for approval by the competent authority before construction begins.

b- After completion of construction:

The investor submits to the competent authority:

- An application for announcing an inland waterway port;

- A set of project acceptance handover documents (present original, submit photocopy);

- Confirmation from the waterway management authority regarding the installation of navigational aids defining the port waters (original).

Within twenty days of receipt of the above documents, the competent authority will review, and if the conditions set out in Clause 2 of Article 4 (amended) of these rules are met, issue a Decision to announce the inland waterway port.

2 - For ports constructed prior to the issuance of this Decision:

The investor (or Port Operating Enterprise) shall submit to the competent authority: - An application for announcing an inland waterway port;

- Other documents related to construction and completion of the project (to present original copies, submit photocopied copies). In cases where the port was constructed long ago and no longer has sufficient documents, the port director shall provide a detailed explanation;

- A chart of the port's water area (original or notarized copy);

- Legal documents on land use (to present original copies, submit photocopied copies);

- Certificate of Business Registration (if the Investor is simultaneously the Port Operating Enterprise) (to present original copies, submit photocopied copies);

- Confirmation from the waterway management agency regarding the installation of navigational aids in accordance with regulations (to present original copies);

If the Investor leases the port for operation, they must submit a lease agreement along with the Certificate of Business Registration of the Port Operating Enterprise.

Within twenty days of receipt of the above documents, the competent authority will review, and if the conditions set out in Clause 2 of Article 4 (amended) of these rules are met, issue a Decision to announce the inland waterway port.

3 - The competent authority shall announce the operating period based on factors such as the scale of the project; land use duration; transportation planning...

7 - Article 13 is amended and supplemented as follows:

" Article 13.

1 - Procedures for issuing an Operating Permit for an inland waterway wharf:

a - When there is a need to open a wharf, the Wharf Owner shall submit to the competent authority a dossier including:

- An application for an Operating Permit for an inland waterway wharf;

- A diagram of the water area to be used;

- A plan for wharf operation.

Within ten days from the date of receipt of the complete dossier, the competent authority issuing the permit shall examine it. If the location and size of the water area comply with the content of point a Clause 2 Article 4 (Amended) of this Regulation, the permit authority shall record it in the application and sign to confirm the water area diagram of the wharf so that the owner can proceed with business registration procedures, land leasing... and install safety equipment as prescribed.

b - After completion:

The Wharf Owner shall resubmit the application to the issuing authority along with:

- A report on the completion of construction or installation of equipment at the wharf;

- A certificate from the competent authority regarding the land area of the wharf (except floating wharfs) (to present original copies, submit photocopied copies);

- Business License (if it is a business entity) (to present original copies, submit photocopied copies);

If the wharf uses floating buoys, then the buoys must have a Technical Safety Certificate and a Registration Certificate for the vessel according to regulations; if it is a wharf handling dangerous goods, it must also have a permit from the competent authority as required by law for such goods.

Within seven days from the date of receipt of the report, the competent authority issuing the permit shall inspect it. If the project meets the conditions set out in points b and c Clause 2 Article 4 (Amended) of this Regulation, the permit shall be issued to the wharf owner.

c. For multiple wharves with adjacent water areas (called an inland waterway wharf cluster), the People's Committee of the commune or township may apply for a joint Operating Permit for the cluster or the wharf owners may agree to appoint a representative to apply for a joint Operating Permit for the cluster. In this case, only one application for an Operating Permit for an inland waterway wharf, one water area diagram, and a common system of navigational aids for the entire cluster are required, but each wharf owner must have a Business License, a certificate regarding the wharf's water area, and the representative must have an agreement document from all wharf owners. During operation, each wharf must comply with the conditions set out in Clause 3 Article 4 (Amended) of this Regulation. The representative of the wharf owners is responsible for the overall order and safety of the cluster.

2 - For existing inland waterway wharves currently in operation but without an Operating Permit, if they comply with transportation planning and meet the conditions for inland waterway traffic order and safety, they may continue operations but must follow the procedures to obtain an Operating Permit as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

3 - The maximum validity period of an Operating Permit for an inland waterway wharf is twelve months. Upon expiration of the Permit, if the wharf continues to operate, the owner must follow the procedures to apply for a new Permit.

This Decision shall take effect thirty days from the date of signature.

Abolish the provisions regarding the issuance of Permits for the use of inland waterway areas for temporary inland waterway wharfs as stipulated in Decision No. 2047/QD-PC dated August 6, 1996 of the Minister of Transport.

Temporary inland waterway wharfs that have already been issued Permits for the use of water areas under Decision No. 2047/QD-PC may continue to operate until the expiry of the Permit's validity period.

The competent authority issuing the operation permit for inland waterway wharfs, when processing the issuance of the Permit, shall collect the licensing fee. The level of the licensing fee for the operation permit of inland waterway wharfs shall be applied according to the collection rate for the Permit for the use of water areas of temporary inland waterway wharfs. The submission and utilization of this type of fee shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

Article 3. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration shall guide the implementation of this Decision.

Article 4. The Office of the Ministry, Heads of Departments and Councils under the Ministry; Director of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration; Heads of subordinate agencies under the Ministry; Directors of Provincial Departments of Transport and Public Works; relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.