Circular No. 69/2015/TT-BGTVT on dredging inland waterway channels, port waters, and inland waterway wharfs in combination with product recovery.

CIRCULAR

Provisions on dredging inland waterway channels, port waters,

inland waterway wharves combined with product recovery

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Based on the Law on Inland Waterway Transport 2004; the Law amending, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CPPursuant to the Law on Public Investment dated November 29, 2024;No. certain provisions of the Law on Inland Waterway Transport 2014;

Pursuant to DecreeNo. Decision No. 24/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 27, 2015 of the Government stipulating CV3: 16º56'21" N, 107º11'06" E; and measures for implementing certainNo. provisions of the Law on Inland Waterway Transport and the Law amending, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CPi, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF DEPOSITS AT THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION FUND certainNo. provisions of the Law on Inland Waterway Transport;

Based on Decree No. 107/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CP concerning the functions of the Ministry of Transport;

/2013/QĐ-TTgNo. 47/2015/Article 24Decision No. 1244/TTg dated October 5, 2015 of the Prime MinisterJune 2024;on mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of inland waterway transport;on proposals of the Director of the Department of Infrastructure Construction and Transportation and the Director of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration,

Pursuant to the proposal of the Director of the Department of Ethnic Affairs and Religion Propaganda;on The Minister of Transport issues this Circular stipulating on dredging maintenance of inland waterway channels, port waters,policiesinland waterway wharvesầcombined with product recovery

1. This Circular stipulates on dredging maintenance of inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway wharves ensuring traffic combined with product recovery without using state budget funds.ồenergy road 2. This Circular does not apply to projects implemented under public-private partnership models. This Circular applies to organizations and individuals in Vietnam and foreign organizations and individuals, relevant state management agencies involved in dredging maintenance of inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway wharves ensuring traffic combined with product recovery without using state budget funds.1. Dredging maintenance of inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway wharves is dredging to ensure current technical standards.policies2. Dredging upgrading of inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway wharves is dredging according to approved planning levels. Quarter I (Q.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

3. Investors are organizations and individuals implementing projects for dredging inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway wharves combined with product recovery.

4. Recovered products are common construction materials including: sand (construction sand, saline sand), gravel, pebbles, mud, soil recovered from dredging activities of inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway wharves.

a) National centralized procurement unit: A centralized procurement unit under the Ministry of Finance to perform the task of centralized procurement of assets within the national centralized procurement list (excluding medicines for human disease prevention and treatment, abbreviated as medicines);nationalThe amount of fees collected for food safety and hygiene work shall be implemented according to the schedule of fees attached to this Circular.

Article 4. Project Implementation Costs

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

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

1. Costs for preparing and announcing projects by the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport are allocated from the state budget based on approved estimates by competent authorities.

2. Costs borne by investors include: surveying, designing, project documentation costs; design and estimate review costs; environmental impact assessment preparation, review, approval costs; project supervision consultancy costs; product recovery taxes and fees; project implementation costs; costs to rectify faults caused by investors during project implementation; other costs (if any) borne by the investor.

REGULATIONS ON REGISTRATION AND SELECTION OF INVESTORS FOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Article 5. Compilation of Lists of Projects for Combined Dredging and Product Recovery

1. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport, based on approved development plans, technical standards, and current conditions of inland waterway channels, port waters, and inland waterway wharves, organize the compilation of lists of projects for investment in dredging combined with product recovery without using state budget funds on inland waterway routes to be submitted to the Ministry of Transport and provincial People's Committees for consideration and approval before September 30 each year.

2. The list of projects includes the following main contents:

a) Project name;

Chapter II

b) Scale, objectives, location of the project;

c) Summary of technical requirements, design standards of the works, estimated dredging volume;rime Minister ct s

d) Estimated schedule and duration of the project.

2. The list of projects includes the following main contents:

a) Project name;

b) Scale, objectives, location of project implementation;

c) Summary of technical requirements, design standards of works, estimated dredging volume;

d) Estimated schedule, duration of project implementation.

Article 6. Approval and Publication of Project List

1. Authority to Approve Project Lists

a) The Ministry of Transport shall examine and approve the project lists for dredging combined with product recovery on national inland waterways and port waters, inland waterway ports located on national inland waterways. Prior to approval, opinions of the provincial People's Committees where the projects pass through must be sought.

b) Provincial People's Committees shall examine and approve the project lists for dredging combined with product recovery on local inland waterways and port waters, inland waterway ports located on local inland waterways.

2. Approved project lists may be amended or supplemented in cases where the planning or current status of inland waterway channels, port waters, inland waterway ports changes, or when plans for implementation using other sources of funding have been approved.

3. The project lists specified in point a, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular shall be published on the Ministry of Transport’s electronic portal and the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration’s electronic portal; the project lists specified in point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular shall be published on the provincial People's Committee’s electronic portal and the Department of Transport’s electronic portal.

4. The publication of project lists must be completed no later than five working days from the date of approval of the project lists (including those that have been amended or supplemented).

5. The published project lists must include the main contents prescribed in Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

Articleonu 7. Registration to Implement Projects

1. Investors shall register to implement projects within the published project lists.

2. The maximum time limit for investors to register to implement projects is thirty days from the date of publication of the project lists; if the registration period expires without any investor registering, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport shall submit documents to the Ministry of Transport and the provincial People's Committee for consideration of extending or terminating the registration period for implementing projects.

3. Investors shall submit directly or via postal service or by other appropriate means to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration or the Department of Transport one set of project implementation registration documents as stipulated in Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 8. Registration Documents for Project Implementation Administrative Procedure: Recognition of forest tree planting seed sources for Project Implementation

1. The project implementation registration documents shall include:

a) A registration document for project implementation according to the model prescribed in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular.

b) Business registration certificate, joint venture contract (for joint venture investors);

c) Financial statements of the two most recent consecutive years confirmed by authorized agencies (auditing agency or tax agency); reports on the investor's capability to implement similar projects (if any); reports on the investor's human resources capability, technical capability (machinery, equipment); commitment letter regarding project implementation capital.

2. In cases where investors participate as joint venture investors: the lead representative of the joint venture shall prepare individual capacity documents for each member of the joint venture in accordance with the provisions of this clause.

Article 9. Examination and Selection of Investors

1. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport shall accept project implementation registration documents. If the documents are not clear or complete as required, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport must respond to the investor in writing no later than two working days from the date of receipt of the documents.

2. The investor or the leading member of the joint venture (in the case of joint venture investors) implementing the project must be the owner of the main construction equipment to be considered for examination and selection to implement the project.

3. Content of Investor Examination and Selection

a) The examination shall be conducted using a scoring method (out of 100 points). The selected investor must achieve at least 70 points out of the total points prescribed, while the score for each item must reach at least 50% of the maximum points in the criteria prescribed in Appendix 2 attached to this Circular;

b) In cases where investors have the same score, preference shall be given to the investor holding a business registration certificate issued by the authorized agency in the locality where the project passes through.

4. No later than ten working days from the date of receipt of complete documents as required, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport shall report the results of the examination of the project implementation proposal documents according to the model prescribed in Appendix 2 attached to this Circular to the Ministry of Transport or the provincial People's Committee for consideration and approval of the investor to implement the project.

Article 10. Arime Minister cp termination of validity or expiration of the contract term;n chof the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairsproval of Investor to Implement Projects

1. The Ministry of Transport and the provincial People's Committee shall approve the investor's implementation of the project based on the examination report of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport.

2. No later than three working days from the date of receipt of the examination report, the Ministry of Transport and the provincial People's Committee shall issue an approval document to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, the Department of Transport, and the investor. In cases of non-approval, a response document stating the reasons must be issued.

Article 11. Projects Proposed by Investors

1. Investors may propose to implement projects outside the project lists approved and published by the Ministry of Transport and the provincial People's Committee as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. Proposed projects must ensure they do not fall within the scope of ongoing improvement and upgrading projects of inland waterway channels, except with the approval of the Ministry of Transport and the provincial People's Committee.

3. For projects on national inland waterways, the Ministry of Transport must seek the opinion of the provincial People's Committee where the project passes through and supplement it into the investor's project proposal documents.

Article 12. Investor's Project Proposal File

1. The investor shall submit one set of the project proposal file as prescribed in Article 8 of this Circular through postal service or directly deliver or use another appropriate method to the Directorate of Inland Waterways of Vietnam and the Department of Transport.

2. The Directorate of Inland Waterways of Vietnam and the Department of Transport shall accept the file. In case the file is not clear or complete as required, within two working days at the latest, the Directorate of Inland Waterways of Vietnam and the Department of Transport must issue a written response to the investor.

3. Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving the complete file as required, the Directorate of Inland Waterways of Vietnam and the Department of Transport shall issue a report to the Ministry of Transport and the People's Committee of the province for consideration of the investor’s project proposal. If approved, the Ministry of Transport and the People's Committee of the province shall issue a supplementary announcement in the list of projects. If not approved, they shall issue a written response with detailed reasons.

Article 13. Examination and Approval of Investors and Investment Projects

The examination and approval of investors and investment projects shall be carried out according to the provisions of Articles 9 and 10 of this Circular.

Chapter III

PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS

Article 14. Implementation Project Proposal File

Within sixty days from the date of receipt of the approval document for the implementation of the project, the investor is responsible for conducting surveys, preparing and submitting one set of the implementation project proposal file to the Directorate of Inland Waterways of Vietnam and the Department of Transport. The implementation project proposal file includes:

1. A request for approval of the implementation project proposal file.

2. An explanatory report on the implementation project proposal including the following main contents:

a) Analysis of the necessity and advantages of implementing the dredging project under the combined product recovery model compared to other investment models; favorable and unfavorable conditions; purposes of using recovered products during the dredging process;

b) Determination of location, scale, and scope of construction; determination of dredging volume according to the design standards that have been published or analysis and proposal of technical parameters and construction standards; estimated recovery volume, recovery product collection plan, and disposal location for non-recovered dredged materials;

c) Construction methods, construction sequence, construction schedule and progress; quality and progress monitoring measures, transfer and acceptance procedures for completed works;

d) Safety assurance plans for inland waterway traffic, labor safety, environmental protection, fire prevention and control in accordance with the law;

đ) Financial analysis of the project including total investment cost, capital structure, human resource mobilization plan, equipment, expenses, revenue sources, prices, fees, payback period, profit;

e) Project implementation time frame and progress.

3. Survey report on topography and geology.

4. Design drawings: general layout plan (topographic survey map, channel route or water area; equipment collection location, dredged material collection location...); layout plan of the dredging area; detailed cross-section drawing of dredging; coordinates of channel edge or water area before the port, wharf at the cross-section and other related drawings.

5. Commitment letter for project implementation including: commitment to allocate human resources and equipment to ensure project progress and quality and resolve consequences if the project is not implemented as prescribed; commitment not to cause bank erosion in the project implementation area; commitment to address all consequences caused by the project (if any) and restore the environment.

6. Project review report (for projects with a dredging volume of 300,000 cubic meters or more).³ 7. Other necessary documents for explaining the implementation project proposal file (if any).

7. Other necessary documents for explaining the proposal file to implement the project (if any).

Article 15. Competence to review and approve project proposal submission files

1. The Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport shall receive project proposal submission files. In cases where the files are not clear or complete as prescribed, they must issue a guidance document for investors within no more than two working days.

2. Within no more than seven working days from the date of receiving all files, the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport shall review and approve the project proposal submission files of investors according to the model specified in Appendix 3 issued together with this Circular. If approval is not granted, a response document must be sent to the investor.

3. Within no more than three working days from the date of the decision approving the project proposal submission file, the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport shall send the file to the Ministry of Transport or the Provincial People's Committee for monitoring and inspection.

Article 16. Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Protection Plan of the Project

1. Investors shall prepare environmental impact assessment files to submit to competent authorities for review and approval of the environmental impact assessment report or confirmation of the environmental protection plan as prescribed.

2. Within no more than ninety days from the date of the document approving the implementation of the project, investors shall send the decision approving the environmental impact assessment report or confirmation of the environmental protection plan from the competent authority to the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration or the Department of Transport.

Article 17. Registration of Project Product Utilization

Based on the project proposal submission file approved by the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport, investors shall register project product utilization at the localities where dredging activities take place in accordance with the laws on minerals.

Article 18. Negotiation, Signing and Amendment of Project Contracts

1. Conditions for signing contracts

a) Having a decision approving the project proposal submission file from the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport;

b) Having an approved environmental impact assessment report or confirmed environmental protection plan as prescribed;

c) Having been approved for registration of project product utilization by the competent authority;

d) Having a traffic safety assurance plan for inland waterways approved by the competent authority;

đ) Having implemented measures to ensure contractual obligations of the project contract.

2. The maximum period for negotiating and signing the project implementation contract is four months from the date of the decision approving the project proposal submission file; investors will be refused signing the project contract if they do not commence negotiations and signing the contract for construction implementation within four months (from the date of the decision approving the project proposal submission file), except in cases of legitimate reasons approved by the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration or the Department of Transport for extension, but the period shall not exceed twenty days.

3. The Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport shall organize negotiations and signing of the project implementation contract with selected investors. The contents of the project implementation contract with investors must comply with current laws, including the following main contents:

a) Information of the parties in the contract;

b) Information about the project: project name, facility name, location, total investment amount;

c) Scope and design standards of the facility;

d) Estimated dredging volume according to design standards;

đ) Measures, procedures, plans for implementation and construction schedule (daytime construction);

e) Assurance plan for inland waterway traffic safety, labor safety, fire prevention and extinguishing in accordance with the law;

g) Management, inspection, supervision, acceptance, transfer and reception methods of the completed facility;

h) Construction machinery, equipment and manpower;

i) Investor's commitment not to transfer the project;

k) Measures to handle violations during the implementation of the project contract.

4. The term of the project implementation contract shall be agreed upon by the parties but must be consistent with the scale of the project, dredging means and equipment, traffic safety assurance, product utilization and other related conditions, but shall not exceed eighteen months.

5. Adjustments to the total investment amount, technical design and other conditions already agreed upon in the project implementation contract shall only be considered in the following cases:

a) The project is affected by natural disasters or other force majeure events;

b) New factors emerge that bring higher efficiency to the project;

c) When planning changes directly affect the location, scale, nature, and objectives of the project;

d) Other cases agreed upon in the signed project implementation contract.

Article 19. Guaranteeing Obligations to Fulfill Project Contracts

1. Measures to guarantee obligations to fulfill project contracts shall be applied in the form of bank guarantees or other security measures prescribed by law, with the amount of the guarantee not being less than 3% of the total investment value of the project.

2. Prior to signing the project implementation contract, the investor must submit to the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport a document guaranteeing the obligation to fulfill the project contract. The guarantee for fulfilling the project contract shall be effective from the date the project implementation contract is signed until the completion and handover of the works for use. In cases where the investor is a consortium, the security measure for fulfilling the project contract must be implemented in one of the following ways:

a) Each member of the consortium will separately undertake the guarantee for fulfilling the project contract corresponding to the workload they undertake within the consortium.

b) Members of the consortium agree that one member will be responsible for undertaking the guarantee for fulfilling the project contract on behalf of the entire consortium.

3. The guarantee for fulfilling the project contract shall be deemed invalid if it falls under any of the following circumstances:

a) Its value is lower than that stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) The period of validity of the guarantee for fulfilling the project contract is shorter than the term of the project contract;

c) It does not match the name of the project; the name of the investor or the name of the consortium implementing the project;

d) It is not an original document or does not have a valid signature;

đ) In cases specified in points a, b, c, and d of this clause, if the investor fails to supplement or complete the guarantee for fulfilling the project contract when requested, the proposal file for implementing the project shall be determined as invalid and excluded.

4. Investors who are approved to terminate the project contract without fault shall be refunded the guarantee for fulfilling the project contract within fifteen working days from the date the termination document of the project contract becomes effective, except in the case stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article.

5. Investors shall not be entitled to reclaim the performance bond in the following cases:

a) Refusing to implement after the project contract becomes effective;

b) Failing to comply with the terms of the contract without a legitimate reason;

c) Implementing the contract behind schedule due to their own fault but refusing to extend the validity of the performance bond;

d) In cases where the investor is a consortium, if one member of the consortium breaches the contract, all members of the consortium shall not be entitled to reclaim the performance bond.

Article 20. Terminating Project Contracts PrematurelyThis Resolution takes effect from the date it is adopted by the National Assembly.Water, Ice

1. The project contract terminates prematurely in the following cases:

a) Within fifteen days from the date of signing the contract, the investor does not commence construction without a legitimate reason approved by the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration or the Department of Transport;

b) Selling or exchanging residual products in any form without approval from the provincial People's Committee for registration of residual products;

c) Construction not conforming to approved design standards;

d) Commencing project construction behind schedule compared to the approved construction progress and failing to take measures to accelerate progress without a legitimate reason for the delay;

đ) Causing traffic safety incidents; construction not meeting the project objectives;

e) Being affected by natural disasters or other force majeure factors that cannot be overcome;

g) Other cases agreed upon in the contract.

2. The parties shall agree in the project contract on the cases of terminating the project contract prematurely, measures for handling, compensating for losses, and remedying consequences when the project contract is terminated prematurely.

Article 21. SelectingoConsulting Supervision Units for Projects

1. The investor submits the capability dossier of consulting supervision units meeting the conditions to the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport to proceed with the approval procedures. The dossier includes: a registration document for performing supervisory functions for the project; business registration certificate, practice certificate; financial report; equipment and machinery for supervision (if any); human resource capacity; contracts for participating in supervising similar projects and works.

2. Within the latest three working days from the date of receipt of the capability dossier of the consulting supervision unit submitted by the investor, the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and the Department of Transport shall issue an approval document for the consulting supervision unit. If disapproval is given, the reasons must be clearly stated and a reply document sent to the investor.

3. After receiving the approval document for the consulting supervision unit, the investor shall enter into a contract with the consulting supervision unit for the project.

Chapter IV

QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Article 22. Conditions for commencement of construction of the projectdevelopment1. Prior to commencing construction of the project, the investor must have the following complete procedures and documents:

a) Contract to implement the project between the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, the Department of Transport with the investor;

b) Supervision contract for the project between the investor and the supervising consultancy unit;

c) Inspection record confirming the current status of the project implementation area and both riverbanks between the investor and local authorities and the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration or the Department of Transport;

d) Record confirming the implementation of traffic safety measures on inland waterways according to the approved plan between the investor and the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration or the Department of Transport;

đ) Handover of dredging alignment marks; handover of boundary markers and construction surface for dredging maintenance work with confirmation from the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration or the Department of Transport before construction;

e) Construction equipment and machinery must be within the registration and inspection period;

g) Vessels participating in transporting silt, soil, sand during dredging and channel maintenance work on inland waterways, port waters, and inland waterway terminals must be equipped with a monitoring system to ensure strict supervision of silt and soil disposal at approved locations.

2. Announce the project implementation plan (construction time, progress, scale, type of construction vessels, project implementation form) in local newspapers and radio stations three consecutive times seven days prior to the start of construction, and simultaneously post it at the construction site throughout the construction period. The posted notice shall include the approving authority, the investor, the supervising consultancy organization, the project scale, construction progress, construction time, completion time, funding source, and project implementation form.

Article 23. Responsibilities for managing and supervising the implementation of the project

1. Responsibilities of the Provincial People's Committee: register the by-product recovery from channel dredging, port waters, and inland waterway terminals according to the investor's proposal.

2. Responsibilities of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport

a) Monthly, organize inspections, supervision, and evaluation of the investor's compliance with requirements regarding the scale, scope of dredging, channel design standards, approved project progress, technical standards, quality of works, environmental protection, fire prevention and extinguishing, and other issues as stipulated in the signed project contract. Update detailed data on width, depth, length of shallow sections dredged, volume of dredging, and progress monthly.

b) Coordinate with the investor and local authorities where the project is located to announce the project implementation plan according to Clause 2 of Article 22 of this Circular.

c) Report to the Ministry of Transport and the Provincial People's Committee the results of each project's implementation according to Appendix 4 issued together with this Circular, before the last day of the quarter.

d) For projects ensuring inland waterway transportation while recovering by-products on national inland waterway routes, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration sends the Ministry of Transport decisions approving the projects; reports plans and times for implementing national inland waterway dredging projects that combine by-product recovery annually before December 15.

đ) Annually, organize interim evaluations of the implementation of this Circular's provisions, compile and report to the Ministry of Transport and the Provincial People's Committee.

3. Responsibilities of the supervising consultancy organization

a) Carry out supervisory functions over the investor's project construction process in accordance with approved contents and laws on construction project quality management and maintenance;

b) Collaborate with local specialized agencies in supervising and confirming the volume of by-products recovered by the investor;

c) Regularly report (monthly and quarterly) the investor's and supervising consultancy's project implementation results to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport.

4. Responsibilities of the investor

b) Send environmental protection plans to the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town where the project is implemented and publicly post them at the construction site before and during the entire construction period;

a) Cooperate with departments, local authorities to implement community monitoring; publicize and announce project implementation plans before construction in accordance with regulations;

c) Organize construction, acceptance, and handover of individual components and the entire project according to the approved project dossier in compliance with the law;

d) Fully comply with all commitments in the environmental impact assessment report or environmental protection plan approved by the competent authority, ensure inland waterway safety during construction, and fulfill tax, fee, and financial obligations as prescribed by law;

đ) Regularly (monthly and quarterly) report the project's implementation status and results to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Department of Transport.

d) Regularly (monthly, quarterly) report on the situation and results of project implementation to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, Department of Transport.

Article 24. Supervision and Handling of Violationsdevelopment1. The Ministry of Transport and the People's Committees of provinces organize regular inspections according to plans and surprise inspections of project management activities of agencies, organizations, and individuals participating in the implementation of projects.

2. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Departments of Transport conduct regular monthly and quarterly inspections of investors' and supervisory consultants' project implementation activities.

3. Investors who violate laws in the operation of dredging and maintaining inland waterway channels, port waters, and inland waterway wharfs through a combined product recovery method without using state budget funds, in addition to being subject to administrative penalties under current regulations, must also handle violations in accordance with the provisions of the project contract.

4. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Departments of Transport will not approve participation in dredging and maintenance projects and other projects where they are the main investors for organizations and individuals implementing projects that have not completed procedures as stipulated in Article 22 of this Circular or have constructed outside the approved project scope from six months to thirty-six months.

Article 25. Completion and Handover of Projects

1. After the completion of the project, the investor is responsible for preparing the completion dossier; reporting to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Departments of Transport; organizing surveys, acceptance, and handover for use by the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and the Departments of Transport in accordance with regulations.

2. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, the Departments of Transport, and the supervisory consultant units are responsible for:

a) Accepting the results of dredging operations and completing the final procedures of the project contract as prescribed. The acceptance team includes representatives from the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, the Departments of Transport, and local resource management authorities where the project passes through;

b) Conducting handover procedures for the facility to the operating management unit in accordance with regulations after the project is completed.

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2016, and replaces Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BGTVT dated October 24, 2013, issued by the Minister of Transport on dredging inland waterway channels combined with product recovery (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 37/2013/TT-BGTVT).

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 26. Effective date

1. For projects that commenced construction before January 1, 2016, project management and supervision shall continue to be implemented in accordance with this Circular.

Article 27. Transitional Provisions

2. For projects that had investment selection decisions made before January 1, 2016, subsequent developments shall be carried out in accordance with this Circular without needing to reselect investors.

1. The Director of the Ministry’s Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, the Directors of Provincial Departments of Transport, and related agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

Article 28. Implementation Organization

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals should promptly report them to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution./.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals shall promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution./.