Laws of Vietnam

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

DECIDES:

Article 1.- Hereby to promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation on Management of the Process of Investment in the Project on Construction of Ho Chi Minh Road- Stage I .

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 3.- The director of the Office, the directors of functional departments, the chief inspector, the director of the Department for Evaluation and Quality Control of Traffic Works, directors of specialized management departments under the Ministry, the general director of the Vietnam Railways Union, the general director of the Management Board of the Ho Chi Minh Road Project and the heads of concerned agencies and units shall have to implement this Decision.

Minister of Communications
and Transport
LE NGOC HOAN

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- This Regulation prescribes the management of the process of investment in the project for construction of Ho Chi Minh Road ( stage I) with a view to ensuring that the investment in the construction of Ho Chi Minh Road is managed in accordance with laws, ensuring the safety for people, equipment and property, ensuring the construction quality and time schedule and economically using materials and money of the State.

Article 2.- This Regulation shall apply to all organizations and individuals involved in the project on construction of Ho Chi Minh Road from the time of commencing the investment to the time of completing the construction and putting the project into exploitation and use.

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

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

3.2. Notice No.271-TB/TW of December 23,1999 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam regarding the Political Bureau’s opinions on the project for construction of a number of sections on Ho Chi Minh Road in Central Vietnam region;

3.3. Decision No.18/2000/QD-TTg of February 3,2000 of the Prime Minister on investment in the project on construction of Ho Chi Minh Road (stage I);

3.4. The Regulation on Investment and Construction Management, issued together with the Government’s Decree No.52/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the Investment and Construction Management Regulation 52/ND-CP for short);

3.5. The Government’s Decree No.22/1998/ND-CP of April 24,1998 on compensation for damage caused by the State’s recovery of land for use for defense and security purposes, for national interests and public interests;

3.6. The current legal documents relating to the management of investment and construction in general and the legal documents prescribed specifically for the project on the construction of Ho Chi Minh Road, which have been issued by the competent State bodies.

Article 4.- The cource of implementation of the project must ensure the following 4 basic objectives:

4.1. Complying with the design and technical instructions of the blueprint; the quality is ensured;

4.2. Achieving or surpassing the required construction and installation tempo;

4.3. Economy, reasonable cost;

4.4. Safety for people, equipment, national security and defense works, nearby works, historical relics and environment and landscape. Maintaining normal traffic on road sections being exploited. Maintaining social order and safety.

Chapter II

ORGANIZATION OF THE MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION

Article 5.- Steering Board for Construction of Ho Chi Minh Road

To set up the Steering Board for Construction of Ho Chi Minh Road with the Minister as its head and a vice-minister as its standing deputy-head to solve the relationships with ministries, branches and localities involving in the project, to direct the management, inspect and handle in time contingencies on the site.

The functions, tasks, powers, organization and operation regulations of the Steering Board for construction of Ho Chi Minh Road shall be decided by the minister.

Article 6.- The Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board and regional management boards

6.1. The Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board (hereinafter abbreviated as HCMRP Management Board) is the representative of investor, having the responsibilities, tasks and powers as prescribed in the Investment and Construction Management Regulation 52/ND-CP and Decision No.1999/1999/QD-BGTVT of August 11,1999 of the Communications and Transport Minister on setting up the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board.

6.2. Due to the particularity of the project which stretches from Ha Tay province to Ho Chi Minh City and on the basis of the proposal of the HCMRP Management Board, the Ministry shall decide to assign tasks to a number of existing project management boards under the Ministry of Communications and Transport, the Vietnam Road Administration and provincial/municipal Communications and Transport Services of localities where the road runs through to perform a number of jobs entrusted by the HCMRP Management Board on the basis of the entrustment contracts. These boards are called the regional management boards for short (hereinafter abbreviated as RMB).

Article 7.- Construction and installation units

7.1. Construction and intallation units are units specialized in building traffic works under the Ministry of Communications and Transport, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Construction, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and partnerships of traffic work construction and installation units of the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport Services or Communications and Public Works Services of the localities where the road runs through and the VIC joint-venture company (hereinafter referred collectively to as the construction and installation units).

The Communications and Transport Minister shall decide to assign specific construction tasks to each construction and installation unit on the basis of the list approved by the Prime Minister.

7.2. The construction and intallation units shall have to satisfy all the following conditions:

a/ Having the unified and stable command apparatus for performance of tasks on their respective assigned sections and appointing the executive general director (or director) (hereinafter referred collectively to as the executive director) with clear tasks and powers. The executive directors are entitled to regulate, coordinate and take responsibility for all aspects prescribed in the Regulation, particularly the construction quality and tempo of the assigned projects.

Units joining partnership of the Ministry of Communications and Transport shall be approved by the Communications and Transport Minister.

Units joining partnership of localities must be approved by the presidents of the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities.

Partnership units must enter into concrete partnership contracts clearly defining the head unit, the power, responsibility, work division and interests of each member;

Construction corporations and partnership units must issue clear regulations on the tasks, powers, responsibility, shared benefits, the relationships between the corporations (or companies) and the partnership, between the corporation general director (or company director) and the executive director of construction and intallation units in all aspects.

b/ Having adequate construction machinery and equipment and technical work forces suitable to the construction technology corresponding to the assigned tasks;

c/ The construction and installation units directly assigned by the minister’s decisions must have the standard laboratories satisfying the assigned work, have adequate experienced lab personnel and register their names and signatures;

d/ Having organized the inspection system capable of conducting internal inspection and pre-acceptance test upon completion.

7.3. Construction and installation units assigned the tasks shall have to organize the construction by themselves. In case of using subcontractors (if necessary), there must be the permission of the Communications and Transport Minister.

The ceding of part or whole work to other units is strictly forbidden.

If in the course of construction, the quality and/or tempo is not ensured or this Regulation is breached, the Communications and Transport Minister shall transfer part of the assigned work or reduce the assigned tasks of the violating units.

7.4. The construction and installation units shall have to compile dossiers on erection drawing, construction organization design, with due attention being paid to the general construction tempo and the specific construction tempo.

Article 8.- Departments, functional departments of the Ministry of Communications and Transport

The departments and functional departments of the Ministry of Communications and Transport shall implement functions and tasks prescribed in " Process of effecting the investment and construction order in the railway communications and transport service" issued together with Decision No.1781/CGD of July 17,1997 and Decision No.337/1998/QD/BGTVT of March 4, 1998 on amending Clause 16.3, Article 16 of the above-said process of the Communications and Transport Minister.

Article 9.- Requirements on designing survey quality

9.1. Design consulting organization tasked by the Ministry through the economic contract signed with the HCMRP Management Board shall have to conduct the survey, compile technical design dossier ensuring the technical and quality requirements together with the accurate cost estimate and submit them to the HCMRP Management Board which shall inspect, receive the dossiers and evaluation results, them submit them to the Ministry for approval.

The technical design dossiers must ensure the high precision regarding survey data, particularly for geological and hydrographic data. When designing projects, it is necessary to make the comparison with the 1999 flood peak, ensure smooth and non-interrupted traffic around the year and ensure their durability. The system of protection works, support works and traffic safety facilities must be ensured according to the requirements on the exploitation of the road.

9.2. As the construction stretches for a long distance and involves many construction units, the project shall be divided into many road sections and every big bridge. Each road section and each big bridge is stipulated as a construction work. Expense shall be calculated according to construction work. To permit the approval of technical design and estimate for each part in order to ensure the tempo.

9.3. The technical design dossier must be evaluated and approved by competent bodies.

The erection drawing design dossier must be carefully examined and commented in writing by supervision consultants and approved by the Regional Management Board within the framework of the approved technical design.

9.4. The evaluation of technical design and cost estimate shall be based on the following:

a/ The overall planning on North-South Highway under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.789/TTg of September 24,1997 on the road direction, construction boundary according to stage I and the boundary of the planning for the next stage;

b/ The compliance with written decision on investment in the construction of Ho Chi Minh Road at the Prime Minister’s Decision No.18/2000/QD-TTg of February 3,2000;

c/ Article 37 of the Investment and Construction Management Regulation 52/ND-CP;

d/ Guiding documents of the concerned ministries and branches.

9.5. In order to meet the requirement on tempo and dossier quality and to ensure the procedures for submission and approval thereof, the stipulations shall be as follows:

a/ Organization of technical design evaluation:

+ The Department for Evaluation and Quality Control of Traffic Works (hereinafter referred to as the Evaluation and QCTW Department for short) is assigned to organize and assume the prime responsibility for the evaluation.

+ The evaluation consultancy is provided through the design evaluation experts’ group set up by Decision No.2629/QD-BGTVT of October 1st, 1999 of the Communications and Transport Minister. In case of necessity after making balance, the Minister shall permit the hiring of a number of evaluation consulting organizations that have the legal person status and are capable of undertaking the job, based on the proposal of the director of the Evaluation and QCTW Department.

+ The director of the Evaluation and QCTW Department is authorized to make decision in case where the opinions of the design consulting organization, the evaluation consulting organization, the evaluation experts’ group and bodies invited to participate therein remain divergent. For special cases, the director of the Evaluation and QCTW Department shall report them to the Ministry’s leadership for decision. After the conclusion is made according to competence, within three days, the design consulting organization shall have to promptly correct the dossier for approval.

b/ Cost estimate evaluation:

+ The HCMRP Management Board shall examine the legality and accuracy of the cost estimate made by design consultants and carry out the procedures for submission and approval thereof by the Ministry.

The Evaluation and QCTW Department is the body that carries out the evaluation and draft document to be submitted to the Minister for approval of the cost estimate.

+ The principled cost estimate dossier must be submitted simultaneously with the technical design dossier. After the technical design is approved, within 3 days, the design consultants shall have to promptly complete the adjustment and amendment of the cost estimate. The cost estimate dossier must ensure its accuracy. The cost estimate must be approved within 10 days after the technical design is approved.

9.6. Regarding the erection drawing and its cost estimate:

a/ On the basis of the approved technical design, the units assigned the task of construction shall make the erection drawing. The examination and approval of the erection drawing are specified at Clause 9.3. of this Regulation.

Particularly for projects which need to be supplemented or changed regarding their scales and structures already prescribed in the approved technical design, which may lead to the change in funding, the HCMRP Management Board shall report them to the Ministry of Communications and Transport for approval.

b/ The supervision consulting organization shall make the examination and approval within 7 days after receiving the dossier from the construction and installation units. In case of requesting the construction and installation unit to amend the erection drawing, such request shall not be made more than three times and the time limit for the subsequent request shall be 2 days less than the previous request.

The Regional Management Boards shall have to study, examine and approve the erection drawings within 5 days after receiving the dossier submitted by the supervision consulting organization.

The written approval by the Regional Management Boards must be forwarded to the Evaluation and QCTW Department and the HCMRP Management Board for monitoring.

c/ In all circumstances, the executive director of the unit assigned the task of construction shall bear responsibility before the minister and before law for the quality of the erection drawing design dossier.

d/ On the basis of the approved erection drawing, the construction and installation unit shall proceed with the construction and strictly control the construction quality and volume.

Article 10.- Construction and installation quality control and pre-acceptance test upon completion of the project

10.1. The construction work quality control must comply with the Regulation on Construction Work Quality Control, issued together with Decision No.35/1999/QD-BXD of November 12,1999 of the Minister of Construction and the current guiding documents of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

10.2. The tasks, powers and responsibility of the supervision consulting organization and engineer consultants supervising the construction of Ho Chi Minh Road shall comply with the Regulation on consultancy for supervision of construction of projects within the Communications and Transport sector, issued together with Decision No.1562/1999/QD-BGTVT of June 29,1999 of the Communications and Transport Minister.

10.3. The HCMRP Management Board shall assume the prime responsibility for the general pre-acceptance test upon completion for each contract, the entire project and the hand-over of the construction works.

The Regional Management Boards shall assume the prime responsibility for acceptance of settlement according to construction elements, according to stages under the direction of the HCMRP Management Board.

Article 11.- Requirements on implementation time schedule

11.1. The time schedule for the entire project as set by the Prime Minister in his Decision No.18/2000/QD-TTg, that the construction commences in early 2000 and completes in 2003, must be ensured or surpassed.

11.2. The construction units must set the construction time schedule for every piece of work, every project element and the entire project parts assigned to them respectively, reaching agreement thereon with the supervision consultants and investor.

Units are tasked to regularly compare the actually achieve tempo with the projected tempo so as to timely take remedial measures.

11.3. In case of technical incidents, the construction units must immediately report them to the supervision consultants, the Regional Management Boards, the HCMRP Management Board and the Evaluation and QCTW Department, and within 3 days, the construction units and the supervision consultants shall have to come up with the handling solutions.

11.4. Apart from abiding by the reporting regime under the Ordinance on Statistics and Accountancy, the construction and installation units shall also have to follow the regime of periodical reporting on construction on the 15th and 30th of every month. The contents of such reports shall be uniformly specified by the HCMRP Management Board, including the explanation and work volume performed in between two reporting periods; the explanation and progressive volume; difficulties and problems; proposals and recommendations....

Besides, the construction and installation units, the Regional Management Boards and the HCMRP Management Board shall have to make extraordinary reports at the requests of State management bodies.

Article 12.- Ensuring safety

Throughout the course of implementation of the project from the step of designing to the step of construction, organizations and individuals shall have to attach importance to study and application of all measures in order to ensure:

+ Labor safety and safety for people; the full supply of labor safety equipment and outfits;

+ Safety for construction means and equipment;

+ Safety for other works, scenic places around the construction sites;

+ Traffic and traffic safety on road sections which are being constructed and exploited simultaneously;

+ Environmental hygiene; epidemic prevention and combat; fire, explosion and hazard prevention and combat;

+ Social order and safety.

+ The return of ground right after the completion of construction.

Article 13.- On management of capital and cost

13.1. Throughout the course of implementation of the project from the step of designing survey, bomb and mine sweeping and deactivation, ground clearance, construction and installation to the step of test upon completion and hand-over, the reasonable cost shall be saved so that it shall not exceed the total investment level already approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No.18/2000/QD-TTg of February 3, 2000, except for special cases to be considered and decided by competent authorities.

13.2. Regarding the task-assigning prices:

a/ The task-assigning prices are based on the technical design and the approved construction and installation cost estimate after cutting by 5%.

b/ Settlement value: On unit prices, based on the approved unit prices after cutting 5%. On the volume, based on the performed volume accepted after test upon completion within the framework of the approved technical design.

c/ The following cases shall be considered for adjustment of cost estimates:

+ Where it is due to objective force majeure causes such as natural calamities, flood, storms, enemy sabotages;

+ Where it is due to the change in wage and allowance regimes and policies by the State;

+ Where it is due to geological and/or hydrographic conditions leading to the change in volume and unit prices, which cannot be anticipated when conducting the designing survey.

All cases of adjustment must be decided by the Minister.

d/ Encouraging construction and installation units to practice thrift and apply scientific and technical progress in order to cut the cost.

13.3. The evaluation expense shall comply with Decision No.45/1999/QD-BXD of December 2,1999 of the Construction Minister, promulgating the expense norms for investment and construction consultancy, Decision No.141/1999/QD-BTC of November 16,1999 of the Finance Minister, promulgating the levels of fee for evaluation of investment projects, technical designs and total construction and installation cost estimates, and the regulations of the Communications and Transport Minister on the collection, payment and use management of fees for evaluation of investment projects in the Communications and Transport sector.

13.4. The advance, temporary payment, payment and final settlement shall be subject to separate documents.

Chapter III

GROUND CLEARANCE

Article 14.- Regarding compensation for damage caused by ground clearance

14.1. The compensation for damage caused when the State recovers land for use for the purpose of building Ho Chi Minh Road shall comply with the separate regulation.

14.2. The ground clearance and bomb and mine sweeping and deactivation shall be conducted only within the scope corresponding to stage I of the project (probably to reserve an additional meter to each side of the road in areas previously subject to heavy bombing and strafing and in necessary places).

Chapter IV

EXAMINATION AND INSPECTION

Article 15.- The functional bodies of the Ministry of Communications and Transport ,depending on their respective functions and tasks, shall frequently organize the regular and irregular examinations and inspection of the observance of this Regulation and relevant law provisions.

Article 16.- The HCMRP Management Board, the Regional Management Boards, the investment and construction consulting organizations and the construction and installation units shall be subject to the regular and irregular examinations and inspections by functional bodies of the Ministry of Communications and Transport and competent State management bodies.

Chapter V

COMMENDATION AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 17.- Commendation

17.1. The Ministry of Communications and Transport shall coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Vietnam Confederation of Labor and the Trade Union of the Communications and Transport Sector in launching emulation movements with 4 objectives prescribed in Article 4 of this Regulation.

17.2. The consideration for commendation shall be carried out once every six months. Any units which achieve four tops shall be entitled to keep the rotary award banner of the Prime Minister and given material awards. Any units which achieve one top of the four objectives mentioned above shall be presented the Communications and Transport Minister’s banner and material awards.

The emulation criteria shall be specified separately.

Article 18.- Handling of violations

18.1. Those construction and installation units which fail to ensure the quality shall, depending on its seriousness, have their assigned tasks withdrawn, have to pay the compensation and not be allowed to participate in building traffic works for 1 to 2 years.

18.2. Organizations and individuals committing acts of violating this Regulation and concerned stipulations shall, depending on the seriousness of their violations, be handled according to current law provisions.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 19.- This Regulation takes effect 15 days after if signing

Article 20.- Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be reported in writing to the Communications and Transport Minister for study, amendment and supplement.

Minister of Communications
and Transport
LE NGOC HOAN