Decision No. 701/2000/QĐ-BGTVT On Issuing the Management Regulations for the Implementation Process of the First Phase Investment Project for the Ho Chi Minh Road Construction

DECISION

Regarding the issuance of the Management Regulations for the Implementation Process

of the Investment Project for Building the Ho Chi Minh Road - Phase I

THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION

Based on the Government Decree No. 22/CP dated March 22, 1994 regarding the tasks, authorities, responsibilities for state management and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to the Investment and Construction Management Regulations issued pursuant to Decree No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government;

Pursuant to Decision No. 789/TTg dated September 24, 1997 of the Prime Minister approving the overall planning of the North-South Expressway (now the Ho Chi Minh Road);

Pursuant to Notification No. 271-TB/TW dated December 23, 1999 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the policy of building the Ho Chi Minh Road;

Pursuant to Decision No. 18/2000/QĐ-TTg dated February 3, 2000 of the Prime Minister on investing in the project to build the Ho Chi Minh Road (Phase I);

To ensure the management of investment and construction of the Ho Chi Minh Road in accordance with the provisions of the law, on schedule, ensuring the quality of the works, ensuring safety for people, property, equipment, and saving materials and funds;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Inspection and Quality Control of Transport Works and the General Director of the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board;

DECISION:

Article 1: Now hereby promulgates along with this Decision the Management Regulations for the Implementation Process of the Investment Project for Building the Ho Chi Minh Road - Phase I.

Article 2: This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

Article 3: The Heads of the Ministry's Office, the Heads of the functional Departments under the Ministry, the Head of the Ministry's Inspectorate, the Directors of the Department of Inspection and Quality Control of Transport Works, the Directors of the specialized management Departments under the Ministry, the General Directors of the Vietnam Railway Association and the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board, and the heads of other relevant agencies and units shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

REGULATIONS

Management of the implementation process of the investment project

for constructing the Ho Chi Minh Road - Phase I

(Issued together with Decision No. 701/2000/QĐ-BGTVT dated March 27, 2000)

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: These Regulations stipulate the management of the implementation process of the investment project for constructing the Ho Chi Minh Road (Phase I) to ensure the management of investment and construction of the Ho Chi Minh Road in accordance with the provisions of the law, ensuring safety for people, equipment, and property, ensuring the quality of the works, construction progress, and saving state materials and funds.

Article 2: These Regulations apply to all organizations and individuals related to the Ho Chi Minh Road construction project from the start of investment until the completion of construction and the operation of the project.

Article 3: The implementation of the Ho Chi Minh Road construction project must comply with:

Decision No. 789/TTg dated September 24, 1997 of the Prime Minister approving the overall planning of the North-South Expressway (now the Ho Chi Minh Road);

Notification No. 271-TB/TW dated December 23, 1999 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam regarding the opinion of the Politburo on the construction project of some sections of the Ho Chi Minh Road in the Central Region;

Decision No. 18/2000/QĐ-TTg dated February 3, 2000 of the Prime Minister on investing in the project to build the Ho Chi Minh Road (Phase I);

The Investment and Construction Management Regulations issued pursuant to Decree No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government (hereinafter referred to as the Investment and Construction Management Regulations 52/NĐ-CP);

Decree No. 22/1998/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 1998 of the Government on compensation for losses when the State requisitions land for national defense, security purposes, national interests, and public interest;

Current legal documents governing investment and construction in general and specific regulations for the Ho Chi Minh Road construction project issued by competent state management agencies.

Article 4: The implementation process of the project must ensure the following four basic objectives:

4.1- Compliance with the design and technical instructions of the project; Quality assured;

4.2- Meeting or exceeding the construction progress requirements;

4.3- Economy, reasonable cost;

4.4- Safety for people, means of transportation, equipment, national defense security works, adjacent works, historical relics, and environmental landscape. Maintaining normal traffic on sections currently in operation. Ensuring social order and safety. ORGANIZATION OF MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION

Chapter II
ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION

Article 5: Steering Committee for Building the Ho Chi Minh Road

The Steering Committee for Building the Ho Chi Minh Road shall be established with the Minister serving as the Chairman and a Vice Minister as the Permanent Deputy Chairman to handle relations with relevant Ministries, sectors, and localities related to the project, direct and manage operations, inspect, and promptly address unexpected situations at the construction site.

The functions, tasks, authorities, organizational structure, and operational regulations of the Steering Committee for Building the Ho Chi Minh Road shall be decided by the Minister.

Article 6: Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road and Regional Management Boards

6.1- The Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (hereinafter referred to as the PMB-HCM) is the representative of the investor responsible for duties, tasks, and authorities according to the Investment and Construction Management Regulation 52/2006/NĐ-CP and Decision No. 1999/1999/QĐ-BGTVT dated August 11, 1999 of the Minister of Transport on the establishment of the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road.

6.2- Due to the nature of the project stretching from Ha Tay to Ho Chi Minh City, based on the proposal of the PMB-HCM, the Ministry will decide to assign tasks to some existing project management boards under the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Highway Administration, and local Departments of Transport along the route to handle certain tasks delegated by the PMB-HCM on the basis of entrustment contracts. These boards are referred to as regional management boards (hereinafter referred to as RMBs).

Article 7: Construction and Installation Units

7..1- Construction and installation units are specialized transportation construction units under the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Construction, Central Communist Youth Union Ho Chi Minh, and joint ventures of construction and installation units under local Departments of Transport or Departments of Transport and Public Works along the route and Joint Venture Company VIC (hereinafter referred to as construction and installation units).

The Minister of Transport decides to assign specific construction tasks to each construction and installation unit based on a list approved by the Prime Minister.

7.2- Construction and installation units must ensure the following conditions:

a- Having a unified and stable command system on the assigned section and appointing a General Director (or Director) to manage (hereinafter referred to as the Managing Director) with clear responsibilities and authorities. The Managing Director has the right to coordinate and is responsible for all aspects stipulated in the Regulation, particularly regarding the quality and progress of the assigned construction work.

Participation in joint ventures by units under the Ministry of Transport shall be approved by the Minister of Transport.

Participation in joint ventures by units under localities must be approved by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city.

Joint ventures must have a specific joint venture contract clearly defining the leading unit, authorities, responsibilities, division of work, and benefits of each member.

State Construction Corporations and joint ventures must issue clear regulations on tasks, authorities, responsibilities, benefit distribution, and relationships between the Corporation (or Company) and the joint venture, and between the General Director of the Corporation (or Director of the Company) and the Managing Director of the construction and installation unit in all aspects.

b- Having sufficient machinery, construction equipment, and technical workforce appropriate to the corresponding construction technology assigned.

c- The construction and installation unit directly assigned by the Minister must have a laboratory meeting standard requirements for the assigned work. There must be experienced staff for testing work and they must register their names and signatures.

d- Having a quality control system capable of self-inspection and internal acceptance.

7.3- The construction and installation unit assigned tasks must organize construction themselves. In case subcontractors are used (if necessary), it must be approved by the Minister of Transport.

It is strictly prohibited to transfer part or all of the work to other units.

During construction, if quality, progress, or this Regulation is not met, the Minister of Transport may reduce the workload or withdraw the assigned task.

7.4- The construction and installation unit is responsible for preparing design drawings and construction organization plans, paying special attention to overall construction progress and detailed construction schedules.

Article 8: Departments and Functional Agencies under the Ministry of Transport

Departments and functional agencies under the Ministry of Transport shall implement their functions and tasks as prescribed in the "Procedure for Implementing Investment and Construction Processes in the Transportation Sector" issued by Decision No. 1781/CGĐ dated July 17, 1997 and Decision No. 337/1998/QĐ-BGTVT dated March 4, 1998 amending Clause 16.3 of Article 16 of the aforementioned procedure by the Minister of Transport.

Article 9: Requirements for Survey and Design Quality

9.1- Consulting organizations entrusted with tasks through economic contracts signed with the PMB-HCM are responsible for surveying and preparing technical design files ensuring technical requirements and quality, along with accurate estimates submitted to the PMB-HCM. The PMB-HCM checks and accepts the files and together with the review results, submits them to the Ministry for approval.

Technical design files must ensure high accuracy in investigation data, especially geological and hydrological data. When designing structures, reference should be made to the highest flood level in 1999, ensuring year-round traffic flow and durability. Systems of protective works, auxiliary works, and traffic safety works must meet the operational requirements of the road.

9.2- Given the length of the project, numerous construction units, and divided sections and large bridges, each section and large bridge is defined as a separate project. Costs are calculated per project. Partial technical design and estimate approvals are allowed to ensure progress.

9.3- Technical design files must be reviewed and approved by competent authorities.

Construction drawing design files must be carefully examined by supervising consultants with written comments and accepted by the RMB within the scope of the approved technical design.

9.4- The review of technical designs and estimates is based on:

a- Ensure the overall planning of the North-South Expressway according to Decision No. 789/TTg dated September 24, 1997 of the Prime Minister regarding the route alignment and construction boundaries for phase 1 and planning boundaries for subsequent phases;

b- Comply with the investment decision document for the construction project of the Ho Chi Minh Road as stipulated in Decision No. 18/2000/QĐ-TTg dated February 3, 2000 of the Prime Minister;

c- Pursuant to Article 37 of the Investment Management and Construction Regulation No. 52/ND-CP;

d- Directives from relevant ministries and sectors.

9.5- To meet the progress schedule, quality of the dossier, and ensure the procedures for approval as follows:

a- Organizing technical design review:

Entrust the Bureau of Inspection and Quality Management of Transport Works (hereinafter referred to as the Bureau of Inspection QLCLCTGT) to organize and chair the review.

The consulting work for the review shall be carried out through the specialized team established under Decision No. 2629/QĐ-BGTVT dated October 1, 1999 of the Minister of Transport. In case of necessity after balancing, the Minister will decide to allow the use of some consulting organizations with legal status and capacity based on the proposal of the Director of the Bureau of Inspection & QLCLCTGT.

Delegate the Director of the Bureau of Inspection & QLCLCTGT to make decisions when there are inconsistencies among the opinions of the design consultants, review consultants, specialized review teams, and invited agencies. In special cases, the Director of the Bureau of Inspection & QLCLCTGT will report to the leadership of the Ministry for a decision. After reaching a conclusion within their authority, the design consultant must promptly revise the dossier within three days to serve the approval process.

b- Reviewing the budget estimate:

The Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM) will check the legality and accuracy of the budget estimate prepared by the design consultants and proceed with the necessary procedures to submit it to the Ministry for approval.

The Bureau of Inspection & QLCLCTGT will act as the reviewing body and draft the document to submit to the Minister for approval of the budget estimate.

The budget estimate dossier must, in principle, be submitted simultaneously with the technical design dossier. After the technical design has been approved, the design consultant must promptly complete the budget estimate within no more than three days. The budget estimate dossier must ensure accuracy. The budget estimate must be approved within no more than ten days from the date of approval of the technical design.

9.6- Regarding construction drawings and the preliminary budget estimate:

a- Based on the approved technical design, the unit assigned the construction task will develop the construction drawings. The examination and approval of the construction drawings are regulated in Clause 9.3 of this Regulation.

For projects requiring additional or changed scale and structure different from the approved technical design, which may affect the cost, the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM) will submit for approval by the Ministry of Transport.

b- The supervising consultant organization will examine and approve the construction drawings not later than seven days after receiving the dossier from the construction installation unit. If the construction installation unit is required to modify the construction drawings, the request will not be resolved more than three times, with each subsequent deadline being shorter by two days compared to the previous one.

The Regional Management Boards (Ban QLKV) must study, examine, and approve the construction drawings not later than five days from the date of receipt of the dossier submitted by the supervising consultant organization.

The approval document of the Regional Management Boards must be sent to the Bureau of Inspection & QLCLCTGT and the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM) for monitoring.

c- In any case, the head of the unit assigned the construction task must bear responsibility before the Minister and the law for the quality of the construction drawing dossier.

d- Based on the approved construction drawings, the construction installation unit will implement the construction and strictly manage the quality and quantity of the works.

Article 10: Quality management and handover of the works

10.1- The quality management of construction works must comply with the Quality Management Regulations for Construction Works issued by Decision No. 35/1999/QĐ-BXD dated November 12, 1999 of the Minister of Construction and current directives of the Ministry of Transport.

10.2- The tasks, rights, and responsibilities of the supervising consultant organization and supervising engineer for the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Road must comply with the Supervision Consultant System for Construction Works in the Transport Sector issued by Decision No. 1562/1999/QĐ-BGTVT dated June 29, 1999 of the Minister of Transport.

10.3- The Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM) is responsible for chairing the overall acceptance of each contract, the entire project, and handing over the works.

The Regional Management Boards (Ban QLKV) are responsible for chairing the payment acceptance according to sections and stages under the guidance of the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM).

Article 11: Requirements for implementation progress

11.1- The entire project must ensure compliance or exceed the progress set by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 18/2000/QĐ-TTg, which is to start construction at the beginning of 2000 and complete by 2003.

11.2- Construction units must prepare construction schedules for each task, each section of the works, and the entire assigned portion, in coordination with the supervising consultants and the project owner.

Units assigned the task must regularly compare actual progress with planned progress to take timely measures.

11.3- When technical incidents occur, the construction unit must immediately report to the supervising consultant, the Regional Management Boards (Ban QLKV),, the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM), and the Bureau of Inspection & QLCLCTGT, and within no more than three days, the construction unit and the supervising consultant must propose solutions.

11.4- In addition to complying with the reporting system under the Statistics Accounting Ordinance, construction units must implement regular construction reporting systems on the 15th and 30th of each month. The content of the report is unified by the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM), including the progress and volume between two reporting periods; cumulative progress and volume; difficulties and obstacles; suggestions and proposals...

Additionally, construction units, Regional Management Boards (Ban QLKV), and the Project Management Board for the Ho Chi Minh Road (Ban QLDAĐHCM) have the responsibility to report promptly according to the requirements of state management agencies.

Article 12: Ensuring safety

Throughout the entire project implementation process, from the design stage to the construction stage, organizations and individuals must pay attention to research and fully implement measures to ensure:

Labor safety, human safety; they must have all necessary protective equipment and tools.

Safety for construction vehicles and equipment;

Safety for other structures and scenic spots within the construction site area;

Ensuring traffic and traffic safety on sections that are being constructed while in operation;

Ensuring environmental hygiene. Disease prevention work, fire prevention, and toxic substance prevention;

Ensuring social order and security;

Ensuring immediate restoration of the construction site upon completion of construction;

Article 13: Regarding capital management and cost;

13.1 - Throughout the entire project implementation process from surveying and designing, mine clearance, land clearance, construction and installation to acceptance and handover, efforts should be made to save costs reasonably; so as not to exceed the total investment ceiling approved by the Prime Minister's Decision No. 18/2000/QĐ-TTg dated February 3, 2000, except in special cases reviewed and decided by the competent authority;

13.2 - Regarding the task assignment price;

a - The task assignment price is based on the technical design and approved construction budget reduced by 5%;

b - Payment value: based on unit prices according to the approved construction budget reduced by 5%. Based on quantities according to the quantities accepted within the scope of the approved technical design;

c - The following situations may be considered for adjusting the budget:

Situations due to objective and unavoidable reasons such as natural disasters, floods, storms, enemy attacks;

Due to changes in state policies regarding wages and allowances;

Due to geological and hydrological conditions leading to changes in quantities and unit prices that were not fully anticipated during surveying and designing;

Adjustments must be decided by the Minister;

d - Encouraging construction units to promote savings and apply scientific and technological progress to reduce costs;.

13.3 - Cost verification expenses shall be implemented according to Decision No. 45/1999/QĐ-BXD dated December 2, 1999 of the Minister of Construction on issuing norms for consulting fees for investment and construction, Decision No. 141/1999/QĐ-BTC dated November 16, 1999 of the Minister of Finance on issuing levels of fee collection for project investment feasibility studies, technical designs, and total investment budgets, and regulations of the Minister of Transport on the collection, management, and use of fee verification for investment projects in the transport sector;

13.4 - Advance payments, interim payments, payments, and final settlements shall be governed by separate documents;

Chapter III
REGARDING LAND CLEARANCE

Article 14: Regarding compensation for losses when clearing land

14.1 - Compensation for losses when the State recovers land for the purpose of constructing the Ho Chi Minh Highway shall be carried out according to specific provisions;

14.2 - Land clearance and mine clearance shall only be conducted within the scope corresponding to Phase 1 of the project (Additional reserves of 1 meter on each side may be provided at key locations previously bombed and where necessary);

Chapter IV
INSPECTION AND AUDIT

Article 15: Functional agencies of the Ministry of Transport shall organize regular and spot inspections and audits based on their functions and responsibilities to ensure compliance with this Regulation and related laws;

Article 16: The Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board, Regional Project Management Boards, investment consulting organizations, and construction units shall be subject to regular and spot inspections and audits by functional agencies of the Ministry of Transport and relevant state management agencies;

Chapter V
REWARD AND VIOLATION HANDLING

Article 17: Awards

17.1 - The Ministry of Transport shall cooperate with the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the General Confederation of Labor Vietnam, and the Transport Workers' Union to launch a competition movement with four goals stipulated in Article 4 of this Regulation;

17.2 - The organization of commendations and rewards shall be conducted every six months. Units achieving all first places will retain the Prime Minister's award flag on rotation and accompanying material rewards. Units achieving first place in any one of the four criteria mentioned above will be awarded a flag from the Minister of Transport and accompanying material rewards; Specific competition criteria shall be separately defined;

18.1 - Construction units failing to ensure quality, depending on the severity, will have their assigned tasks withdrawn, bear responsibility for compensating losses, and will not be allowed to participate in transportation construction projects for a period of 1 to 2 years;

Article 18: Handling Violations

18.2 - Organizations and individuals violating this Regulation and related provisions, depending on the severity of the violation, will be handled according to current laws;

During implementation, any issues arising shall be reported in writing to the Minister of Transport for research and amendment./.

Chapter VI
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 19: This Regulation takes effect fifteen days after the date of signature.

Article 20: During the implementation process, any issues that arise need to be reported in writing to the Minister of Transport for study and amendment./.