Laws of Vietnam

On December 7, 1999 the Government issued Decree No.171/1999/ND-CP detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on the protection of traffic works with regard to river traffic works. In furtherance of Article 43 of the Decree, the Ministry of Communications and Transport hereby guides in detail a number of points as follows:

I. Limits of the protection corridors of ship/boat lanes on inland waterways

The protection corridor of ship/boat lane on inland waterways is the scope on both sides along the width of a ship/boat lane, determined to ensure the stability of the lane and safety for communications and transport activities as well as the convenience for lane upgrading and exploitation management.

1. The lane protection corridor is determined according to the technical grade of the inland waterway under the planning already decided by the competent body (called the planning grade). The width of the corridor on each side is stipulated for each specific case as follows:

a) Ship/boat lanes not close to the shores: from the lane edge to each side, it is:

- 25m for lanes on rivers, canals of grades I and II, lakes, bays;

- 15m for lanes on rivers, canals of grades III and IV;

- 10m for lanes on rivers, canals of grades V and VI.

b) Ship/boat lanes close to shores without dikes or roads: From the high edge toward the shore: 5m.

The high edge is determined as the peak of the river or canal bank close to the ship/boat lane.

c) For ship/boat lanes close to banks with dike, of which the protection corridor coincides with the dike protection limit, the current law provisions on dike protection shall apply.

d) For ship/boat lanes close to banks with roads and/or railways running thereon, the lane protection corridor shall be calculated from the high edge of the bank outwards to the river.

e) For lane sections running close to river or canal banks not yet planned, the width of the protection corridor shall be determined on the basis of the technical grades being under exploitation and the actual situation in the region as well as the orientation for upgrading in the coming period, for implementation.

2. The technical grades of lanes are announced and defined by competent bodies on the basis of the technical criteria of the lanes (the depth, the width, the curved radius, ship clearance of river-crossing works) corresponding to TCVN 5664-92, issued together with Decision No. 347/QD May 23, 1992 of the State Commission for Sciences.

3. For investment projects on lane upgrading, which are being in the period of investment and have not yet satisfied the technical criteria of the planning, the corridor must still be determined according to the technical grade of the approved planning and the investors shall have to draw up plans, ask for addition of fund for the ground clearance and the building of boundary markers ashore. For investment projects on lane upgrading, which have already been approved but still lacked the plans for ground clearance and building of marker post ashore in strict accordance with the planning grade, the investors shall have to supplement funding for the above-said work and submit it to the investment managing body before they are constructed.

4. The determination and post-marking of the ship/boat lane protection corridor limits shall be carried out through various steps, with priority given to key areas running through urban centers or population quarters along river banks; areas for fish trap placing or aquaculture on rivers; rivers which have been planned and prepared for investment in renovation and upgrading. In these areas, the inland waterways managing bodies shall have to determine the lane protection limits and arrange signals of lane boundaries in service of the traffic management, protection and assurance.

5. Where it is necessary to build works within the ship/boat lane protection limits, such must be permitted by the competent bodies under the current regulations.

Where such works do not greatly affect the lanes while the removal and dismantlement thereof are very costly, they shall be temporarily left there but the work owners shall have to make commitment with the competent local People’s Committees and waterway managing bodies not to further expand or develop their works and to remove them immediately when so requested.

6. For lanes marked with protection corridors under Directive No. 236/CT of July 21, 1997, if the protection corridors are larger than the limits prescribed in Decree No.171/1999/ND-CP and are at present not complained about or disputed, their boundary markers shall be kept intact. If the width of the protection corridor under Directive No. 236/CT is smaller than the width of the corridor under Decree No. 171/1999/ND-CP, they must be re-determined and post-marked according to the provisions of Decree No. 171/1999/ND-CP.

II. Organization of implementation

1. The Vietnam Inland Waterway Bureau shall have to guide localities in directing and inspecting the determination and post-marking of the boundaries of protection corridors of inland waterway lanes and monitor and sum up the situation of implementation nationwide. If any problem arises, it shall report to the Ministry for timely settlement;

To direct the River Section Management Bodies under the Vietnam Inland Waterway Bureau to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the land administration bodies and People’s Committees of districts, provincial towns and cities, the People’s Committees of communes, wards and district towns in measuring, post-marking and arranging signals in order to determine the boundaries of protection corridors of ship lanes on the river sections assigned to them for management.

2. The People’s Committees of all levels shall have to organize apparatuses for directing their attached units in the determination and post-marking of the protection corridors of inland waterway traffic works on lanes under their respective management.

The district-level People’s Committees shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with units which manage the local inland waterways in combating the encroachment and organizing the clearance of violating objects in the protection limits of inland waterway traffic works in their localities.

3. The investors and contractors for construction of lanes under the renovation, repair or upgrading projects shall have to manage and protect them during the construction period till they are handed over to the exploitation management units.

Investors, when handing the completed lanes to the management units, shall have to hand over all dossiers on ground clearance and on boundary markers.

4. The planning and investment in the construction of projects of localities or branches, which affect the inland waterway traffic works must all be agreed upon by competent inland waterway management bodies and commented in writing according to Article 23 of Decree No.171/1999/ND-CP.

5. The boundary markers shall be handed over to the local administrations (enclosed with plans), which serve as basis for the management and protection of the corridors.

In order to well protect the inland waterway traffic works, the Vietnam Inland Waterway Bureau, the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport or Communications and Public Works Services, units managing inland waterways should closely coordinate with the local administration at all levels, concerned branches within the scope of their responsibility in well implementing the Government’s Decree No.171/1999/ND-CP.

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing.

For the Minister of Communications and Transport
Vice Minister
PHAM QUANG TUYEN