Circular No.

18/2016/TT-BXD dated 30 June, 2016, detailing and

guiding some contents on project appraisal and approval
and design and estimate of works construction
MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
------- Independence - Freedom Happiness
---------------

No.: 18/2016/TT-BXD Hanoi, 30 June 2016

CIRCULAR
DETAILING AND GUIDING SOME CONTENTS ON PROJECT APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL AND DESIGN AND
ESTIMATE OF WORKS CONSTRUCTION

Pursuant to the Construction Law No. 50/2014/QH13 dated 18/6/2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2013 / ND-CP dated 25/06/2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers
and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP dated 18/6/2015 of the Government on management of construction investment
project;

Pursuant to Decree No. 46/2015/ND-CP dated 12/5/2015 of the Government on management of quality and
maintenance of construction works;

Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2015/ND-CP dated 25/3/2015 of the Government on management of costs of construction
investment;

Considering the recommendations of the Agency of Construction Activity Management,

The Minister of Construction issues this Circular detailing and guiding some contents on project appraisal and approval
and design and estimate of works construction.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation:

a) This Circular details some contents on project appraisal and approval and design and estimate of works construction
in accordance with the provisions in Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP dated 18/6/2015 of the Government on management of
construction investment projects (hereafter referred to as Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP).

b) The appraisal of pre-feasibility report, recommendation of investment guidelines and decision on investment
guidelines shall comply with the law on investment and public investment.

2. Subjects of application: specialized construction bodies under the Ministries managing the specialized construction
works, provincial and district Peoples Committee; investment decider, investor and other relevant organizations and
individuals.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Appraisal request is the investor or person authorized in writing by the investor or body or organization assigned by
the investment decider in case of unidentified investor.

2. Appraisal body is the specialized construction body as decentralized or specialized body directly under the investment
decider specified in Articles 10, 24, 25 and 26 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

Article 3. Principles of project appraisal and approval, design and estimate of construction works

1. Project submission and appraisal, design and estimate of works construction in accordance with authority to ensure
the prescribed appraisal procedures and time limit.
2. Appraisal of design and construction estimate is done with the entire works or each works of project or by phase or
project package but must ensure the consistency and uniformity of content and grounds for calculation in appraisal
results.

3. Openness and transparency on order, procedures, dossier and appraisal result and compliance with regulations on
reform of administrative procedures during the appraisal.

4. Project approval and design and estimate of works construction in accordance with authority or authorization after
there is a Notice of appraisal result and the dossier submitted for approval is added or completed as required by the
appraisal body.

5. For projects which have a number of steps of design more than the prescribed number, the specialized construction
body only appraises the design dossier at the step of design according to regulation of law, the remaining steps of design
shall be decided by the investment decider for appraisal and approval. Where the name and content of steps of design of
project follow the international practices other than the prescribed steps of design, the specialized construction body only
appraises the design dossier with the content corresponding to the basic and technical steps of design or construction
drawing design.

Article 4. Responsibility of organizations and individuals in project appraisal and approval and design and
estimate of works construction

1. Responsibility of the investment decider:

a) Requires the investor to follow the appraisal procedure in line with scale and capital of project, type and level of
construction works. For projects using the mixed capital, the investment decider shall determine the type of capital as a
basis for project submission, appraisal, approval and design and estimate of works construction;

b) Assigns and inspects the appraisal from the subordinate professional bodies;

c) Approves or authorizes the approval for project, design and estimate of works construction in accordance with the
laws.

2. Responsibility of the investor:

a) Submits for appraisal of project, basic design, design and estimate of works construction in accordance with the
provisions of this Circular; organizes appraisal for review and approval for construction drawing design and estimate of
works construction for case of 03-step design;

b) Inspects, reviews and take responsibility before the appraisal body and law for the legitimacy and contents of
appraisal dossier; explains and completes appraisal dossier as required by the appraisal body;

c) Directly chooses the qualified consultant to carry out the verification for the appraisal and takes responsibility for
checking the content of verification of the consultant to meet the verification requirements;

d) Keeps dossier as stipulated in Paragraph 3, Article 6 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

3. Responsibility of the appraisal body or organization:

a) Organizes the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction in accordance with regulations of law;

b) Complies with regulations on rights and responsibilities of the appraisal body or organization as stipulated in Article 71
and 87 of the Construction Law;

c) Makes report and provides explanation of appraisal as required by the competent state body in case of necessity.

d) Keeps necessary dossiers and documents related to the appraisal as stipulated in Paragraph 4, Article 9 of this
Circular.

4. Responsibility of the construction consultant:

a) Comply with the rights and obligations of the construction consultant specified in Article 70 and 86 of the Construction
Law when formulating and verifying project, basic design, design and estimate of works construction;

b) Fully provides dossier and gives explanation and corrects the content of appraisal dossier as required by the investor
and the appraisal body.

Chapter II

PROJECT APPRAISAL, DESIGN AND ESTIMATE OF WORKS CONSTRUCTION

Article 5. Order of project appraisal, design and estimate of works construction

The order of project appraisal, design and estimate of works construction specified in Article 11 and 30 of Decree
No. 59/2015/ND-CP is guided as follows:

1. The appraisal decider shall prepare dossier before submission for appraisal of project, design and estimate of works
construction.
2. Submission for project appraisal :

a) For projects using the capital from state budget: The dossier for appraisal is sent to the specialized construction
bodies as decentralized for appraisal of feasibility Report and technical economic Report on construction investment;

b) For projects using non-budget state capital: The dossier for appraisal is sent to the specialized construction bodies as
decentralized for appraisal of basic design (or design of construction drawing and estimate of works construction for
projects which must have the technical economic Report) and sent to the specialized bodies directly under the
investment decider for appraisal of other contents of feasibility Report and technical economic Report on construction
investment and technological design (if any);

c) For projects using other capital: The dossier for appraisal is sent to the specialized construction bodies as
decentralized for appraisal of basic (or design of construction drawing and estimate of works construction for projects
which must have the technical economic Report) for construction investment projects having works of special grade,
grade I, public works or works with significant impact on the landscape, environment and community safety. The
specialized bodies directly under the investment decider shall appraise the other contents of feasibility Report and
technical economic Report on construction investment and technological design (if any);

d) For remaining projects not subject to the appraisal from the specialized construction bodies, the specialized bodies
directly under the investment decider shall appraise all contents of feasibility Report and technical economic Report on
construction investment.

3. Submission for appraisal of construction design developed after basic design and estimate of works construction:

a) For projects using the capital from state budget: The dossier for appraisal is sent to the specialized construction
bodies as decentralized for appraisal;

b) For projects using non-budget state capital: The dossier for appraisal is sent to the specialized construction bodies as
decentralized for appraisal. Particularly for technological design and design of works of grade IV, of medium voltage grid
construction, the appraisal dossier shall be sent to the specialized bodies directly under the investment decider for
appraisal;

c) For projects using other capital subject to the appraisal by the specialized construction bodies as stipulated in
Paragraph 1, Article 26 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP:The dossier for appraisal is sent to the specialized construction
bodies as decentralized for appraisal of construction design and sent to the specialized bodies directly under the
investment decider for appraisal of technological design (if any) and estimate of construction;

d) For remaining projects not subject to the appraisal from the specialized construction bodies, the specialized bodies
directly under the investment decider shall appraise all contents of construction design developed after the basic design
and estimate of works construction.

4. The appraisal body shall carry out the appraisal in order and contents specified from Article 5 to Article 9 of this
Circular.

Article 6. Dossier submitted for appraisal of project, basic design and design and estimate of works
construction

1. The appraisal requester shall submit one (01) dossier (original dossier) to the appraisal body specified in Article 5 of
this Circular for appraisal. In case of required opinion gathering from the relevant bodies and organizations, the appraisal
body shall require the person submitting dossier for appraisal to add the contents of gathered opinions into the dossier.

2. The dossier submitted for appraisal must ensure the legitimacy and in line with the contents of appraisal. The dossier
submitted for appraisal is considered valid when it ensures the contents specified in Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article,
proper specification, presentation in Vietnamese or bilingual (Vietnamese as primary language) and is verified and
sealed for confirmation by the appraisal requester.

3. The dossier submitted for appraisal of project and basic design consists of: Request for appraisal and list of
documents for appraisal as stipulated in the Form No.01, Appendix II of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

4. The dossier submitted for appraisal of technical economic Report on construction investment consists of: Request
for appraisal and list of documents for appraisal as stipulated in the Form No.04, Appendix II of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-
CP.

5. The dossier submitted for appraisal of technical design, design of construction design and estimate of works
construction consists of: Request for appraisal and list of documents for appraisal as stipulated in the Form No.06,
Appendix II of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

Article 7. Receiving and verifying the appraisal dossier

1. The appraisal body shall receive and check the completeness and validity of appraisal dossier directly sent or by post.
The appraisal dossier shall be returned to the appraisal requester upon refusal of receipt in cases specified in Paragraph
4 of this Article.

2. Within five (05) working days, the appraisal body shall review and send document to require the addition of appraisal
dossier to the appraisal requester (if need, the addition of dossier is required only one (01) time during the appraisal) or
the dossier shall be returned in cases specified under Point d, Paragraph 4 of this Article. Within twenty (20) days after
receiving the requirement from the appraisal body, if the appraisal requester fail to add his dossier, the appraisal body
shall stop its appraisal and the appraisal requester shall submit dossier for re-appraisal when required.

3. The appraisal requester shall pay the appraisal fees to the appraisal body. The appraisal fee of project, basic design
and design and estimate of works construction follows the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

4. The appraisal body shall refuse to receive the appraisal dossier in the following cases:

a) The submission for appraisal not in line with the authority of the appraisal body;

b) The project, basic design and design and estimate of works construction are not subject to be appraised according to
the regulations of law on construction;

c) The appraisal dossier does not ensure the legitimacy or validity as stipulated in Paragraph 2, Article 6 of this Circular;

d) For dossiers received by post in cases specified under Points a, b and c of this Paragraph, the appraisal body shall
send document to the appraisal requester to specify the reasons for refusal of appraisal.

Article 8. Appraisal implementation

1. The appraisal is carried out when the appraisal body receives all valid dossier as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular
and ends upon a written notice of appraisal result. The time limit for appraisal is according to the provisions in Paragraph
4, Article 11 and Paragraph 8, Article 30 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

2. The appraisal contents shall comply with the provisions in Article 58 and 83 of the Construction Law and Article 6 and
10 of Decree No. 32/2015/ND-CP dated25/3/2015 of the Government on management of cost of construction
investment.

3. Within five (05) working days from the starting date for appraisal, the appraisal body shall send documents to gather
opinions from other relevant bodies or organizations. The time limit for opinions contribution from other relevant bodies or
organizations is in accordance with the provisions in Paragraph 3, Article 11 and Paragraph 3, Article 30 of Decree
No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

4. During the appraisal, the appraisal body has the right to:

a) Require the relevant bodies or organizations to provide the necessary information, documents and data for the
appraisal;

b) Invite the organizations and individuals that are qualified and have experience to participate in the appraisal.

c) Require the investor to directly choose the consultant for the verification in service of appraisal or consider using the
verification result from the investor (where the investor has carried out the verification as stipulated in Paragraph 2,
Article 10 of this Circular);

d) Require the investor to explain and clarify the contents related to the appraisal if needed;

dd) Suspend the appraisal and promptly notify the appraisal requester of the mistakes and errors of calculation methods,
load, drawing description, diagram, etc in the contents of dossier resulted in the failure to give out the appraisal
conclusion. Where these mistakes and errors cannot be remedied within twenty (20) days, the appraisal body shall stop
its appraisal and the appraisal requester shall submit dossier for re-appraisal when required.

Article 9. Appraisal result and notice of appraisal result

1. The appraisal result must have the assessment and conclusion about the level of response to requirement to each
appraisal content and all contents submitted for appraisal under the form specified in Appendix II of Decree
No. 59/2015/ND-CP; recommendations to the investment decider and the investor. The content of consideration and
assessment of the appraisal body is specifically guided as follows:

a) For the appraisal of project and basic design: Assess the consistence and level of response to the investment
guidelines, requirements, content of formulation of project, basic design, criteria reflecting the need for construction
investment, feasibility and effectiveness of project;

b) For appraisal of design and estimate of works construction: Assess the consistence and level of response to the
requirements, duties and content of design and estimate of works construction;

c) Review and update the result of verification for appraisal, approval opinions on fire prevention and fighting,
environmental protection and opinions of relevant bodies and organizations (if any).

2. The appraisal body shall announce the appraisal result to the appraisal requester directly or by post.

3. After the appraisal dossier is modified and completed, the appraisal body shall check and seal on one (01) dossier of
project, drawing of basic design, drawing of technical design or construction drawing design and estimate of works
construction. The appraisal seal sample is in accordance with the provisions in Appendix I of this Circular. The appraisal
requester shall submit the copy (photocopy or PDF file) of feasibility report, basic design, design and estimate of works
construction sealed to the appraisal body.
4. When finishing the appraisal, the appraisal body shall:

a) Keep a number of documents: Request for appraisal, conclusions of organizations and individuals involved in the
appraisal; opinion documents from the relevant organizations and bodies, notice of appraisal result, copies of documents
with appraisal seals as stipulated in Paragraph 3 of this Article;

b) Return documents submitted for appraisal excluding documents specified under Point a of this Paragraph to the
appraisal requester.

Article 10. Verification for appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction

The verification for appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction specified in Article 11 and 30 of
Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP is guided as follows:

1. Based on the verification requirement of the appraisal body, the investor shall choose the qualified consultant directly
to carry out the verification for the appraisal.

2. Where the investor carries out the verification before the appraisal, the specialized construction body shall consider
the use of verification result for the appraisal.

3. The consultant chosen for verification for the appraisal of the specialized construction body must meet the following
requirements:

a) Is qualified for constructional operation in accordance with regulations of law;

b) Its information on capacity of constructional operation is posted on the website of the Ministry of Construction or the
Department of Construction as stipulated in Article 69 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP. Where the verification consultant
has not yet registered its capacity of constructional operation, it must be approved in writing by the specialized body
directly under the Ministry of Construction or the Department of Construction;

c) Is independent from legal status and finance from the investor and the consultants for formulation of project, design
and estimate of works construction.

4. The procedures for directly choosing the verification consultant for the appraisal as required by the specialized
construction body specified as follows:

a) The appraisal body recommends the requirements and scope of verification for the appraisal including some main
contents as follows:

- The contents specified under Points c, d and dd, Paragraph 2 and 3, Article 38 of the Construction Law for the appraisal
of project and basic design;

- The contents specified in Paragraph 4, Article 58 of the Construction Law for the appraisal of technical-economic report;

- The contents specified in Paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Article 83 of the Construction Law for the appraisal of design and
estimate of works construction.

b) Based on the verification requirement from the appraisal body, the investor shall send the verification request with the
needs and contents of verification and draft contract (including the contents: scope of verification, time of
implementation, required quality of verification, contract value, accountability, etc) to the consultant expected to be
chosen for verification.

c) Based on the verification request from the investor, the consultant shall send its recommendations of verification to the
investor for review, negotiation and contract signing.

5. The time to carry out the verification of project, basic design, design and estimate of works construction is specified in
Paragraph 5, Article 11 and Paragraph 4, Article 30 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP. In case of extension of verification
time, the investor shall send a written notice to the appraisal body to explain the reasons and request the extension.

6. The investor shall verify and assess the verification result Report carried out by the consultant before sending it to the
appraisal body. The form of verification result Report is guided in the Appendix I of this Circular.

Article 11. Decentralization and authorization for appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction

1. The specialized construction body under the Ministry managing the specialized construction works can make a
recommendation to the competent person to decide on the decentralization to the Department managing the specialized
construction works for the appraisal of technical economic report on construction investment of works from grade II or
lower using the state capital which are decided on construction investment by the Ministries, ministerial bodies,
governmental bodies, central bodies of political organizations, social political organizations, state economic groups and
corporations in the administrative areas of provinces.

2. Based on the specific conditions of localities, the provincial Peoples Committee shall decide on the decentralization or
authorization of appraisal of project, design and construction estimate for projects and works under the appraisal
authority of Department managing the specialized construction works to the Division in charge of construction
management under the district Peoples Committee, Management Board of industrial park, export processing zone, high-
tech parks and economic zone.
3. The decentralization as stipulated in Paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article and other cases of authorization and
decentralization (if any) must ensure the principles and conditions as stipulated in Paragraph 6, 34 of the Law on
organization of Government and Article 13 and 14 of the Law on organization of local government.

Article 12. Appraisal of technical economic Report on construction investment

The order to appraise the projects with required technical economic Report shall comply with the provisions in Article 5
of this Circular. Particularly for appraisal authority of technical economic Report specified under Point a, Paragraph 3,
Article 13 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP is guided as follows:

1. The specialized construction body directly under the Ministry managing the specialized construction works specified in
Article 76 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP shall take charge of the appraisal:

a) The technical economic Report on construction investment of works using the state capital which the Ministries,
ministerial bodies, governmental bodies and central bodies of political organizations, social political organizations
decide on their investment, excluding the projects decentralized to the Department managing the specialized
construction works as stipulated in Paragraph 1, Article 11 of this Circular;

b) Design of construction drawing (excluding the technological design), estimate of works construction using non-budget
state capital which the Ministries, ministerial bodies, governmental bodies and central bodies of political organizations,
social political organizations, state economic groups and corporations decide on their investment, excluding the
projects decentralized to the Department managing the specialized construction works as stipulated in Paragraph 1,
Article 11 of this Circular;

c) Design of construction drawing (excluding the technological design), works of special grade and 1st grade using other
capital.

2. Department managing the specialized construction works shall take charge of the appraisal:

a) The technical economic Report on construction investment of works using the state capital which are under
construction investment in the administrative areas of provinces and are decided on investment by the provincial level,
the technical economic Report with works from level II or lower which are decided on investment by the Ministries,
ministerial bodies, governmental bodies and central bodies of political organizations, social political organizations
according to the provisions on decentralization in Paragraph 1, Article 11 of this Circular, except for the projects specified
in Paragraph 3 of this Article.

b) Design of construction drawing (except for the technological design), estimate of construction works of grade II and III
using the non-budget state capital invested for construction in the administrative areas of provinces which the provincial
level, the Ministries, ministerial bodies, governmental bodies and central bodies of political organizations, social
political organizations, state economic groups and corporation decide on their investment in accordance with the
provisions on decentralization in Paragraph 1, Article 11 of this Circular, except for works specified in Paragraph 3 of this
Article;

c) Design of construction drawing (except for the technological design), public works and works with great effect on
landscape, environment and safety of community using other capital invested for construction in the administrative areas
of provinces, except for works specified in Paragraph 1 of this Article.

3. The Division in charge of construction management under the district Peoples Committee, Management Board of
industrial park, export processing zone, high-tech parks and economic zone shall appraise the technical economic
Report on construction investment using capital from the state budget; design of construction drawing and estimate of
works construction using the non-budget state capital in accordance with the provisions on decentralization in Paragraph
1, Article 11 of this Circular.

Article 13. Other provisions on appraisal of project, design and estimate of work construction

1. For the project, design and estimate of work construction in line going through 02 provinces or more subject to the
appraisal by the specialized construction body, the specialized construction body under the Ministry managing the
specialized construction works shall take charge of the appraisal.

2. For the projects including various works of different grades, the body in charge of appraisal is the organ which shall
appraise the main works or works with highest grade of the project.

3. For the projects carried out in the form of public-private partnership contract (PPP), the competent state body specified
in Paragraph 1, Article 26 of Decree No.15/2015/ND-CP dated 14/02/2015 of the Government on investment in the form
of public-private partnership is the unit in charge of appraisal of project. The appraisal of basic design and design and
estimate of works construction is done like the project using the non-budget state capital specified in Paragraph 2, Article
11 and Paragraph 1 of Article 25 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP.

4. The specialized body directly under the investment decider shall take charge of appraisal of design and estimate of
works construction of the projects which have main content as goods procurement and services supply but have their
constructional components including the works items and activities which do not affect the investment objectives and
safety in operation, use and expense ratio of construction of less than 15% of the total project investment; appraisal of
technical and economic reports of repair, renovation and upgrade project of works using the non-business capital with
investment nature.
5. Projects using the mixed capital with contribution of capital from state budget, non-budget state capital from 30% or
more or less than 30% but over 500 billion dong in the total investment, such projects shall be appraised like the ones
using the non-budget state capital.

Chapter III

APPROVAL AND MODIFICATION OF PROJECT, DESIGN AND ESTIMATE OF WORKS

CONSTRUCTION
Article 14. Approval for project and decision on construction investment

The approval for project and decision on construction investment specified in Article 12 and 13 of Decree
No. 59/2015/ND-CP is guided as follows:

1. The body in charge of appraisal of project directly under the investment decider shall summarize the appraisal result
and submit it for approval. For the remaining cases, the investment decider shall review and assign them to the
subordinate specialized bodies for summary of appraisal result and submission for approval.

2. The investment decider shall approve the project including the main contents specified in Paragraph 2, Article 12 of
Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP and the relevant regulations of law. The project approval must include the specific contents
of capital, expected arrangement of capital plan by time of project implementation, number of steps of design and
applicable standards and regulations and time to perform the work construction.

3. The form of construction investment decision is specified in Appendix I of this Circular.

Article 15. Approval for design and estimate of works construction

1. The investment decider and the investor shall approve the design and the estimate of works construction with the
contents specified in Article 28 of Decree No.59/2015/ND-CP. The investment decider is decentralized or authorized to
approve the design and estimate of works construction as stipulated in Paragraph 1, Article 72 of the Construction Law.

2. The investment decider shall approve the design of construction drawing and the estimate of works construction for
the projects which require the formulation of technical and economic Report on construction investment.

3. The form of request for approval for design and estimate of works construction is specified in the Appendix I of this
Circular.

Article 16. Modification of construction investment project

1. The construction investment project using the state budget and non-budget state budget shall be modified in cases
specified in Paragraph 1, Article 16 of the Construction Law. The investment decider shall decide on the modified
contents related to the objectives, investment scale, location, progress of project performance, total investment and
structure of used capital.

2. The modified projects and basic designs under the approval authority of the investment decider must be appraised in
the order specified in Paragraph 3 of this Article.

3. The order of appraisal of modified project and basic design is guided as follows:

a) The investor requests in writing the investment decider to consider and approve the project modification policy,
particularly clarify the reasons, contents and scope of modification and recommend the implementation solutions.

b) Based on the written approval from the investment decider on project modification policy, the investor shall prepare
documents of project and basic design to be modified and submit them to the body in charge of decentralized appraisal
for appraisal;

c) The summary of appraisal result and submission of modified project are specified in Paragraph 1, Article 14 of this
Circular.

4. The approval for modified construction investment project from the investment decider consists of the modified
contents or all contents of project after modification.

5. The body in charge of appraisal of modified project and basic design is the body which took charge of appraisal of
approved project and basic design.

Article 17. Modification of design and estimate of works construction

1. The cases of modification of design and estimate of works construction are done according to the provisions in Article
84 of the Construction Law and Article 11 of Decree No. 32/2015/ND-CP of the Government on management of costs of
construction investment.

2. The investment decider shall decide on the modification of design and estimate of works construction when this
modification results in modification of construction investment project. The other cases shall be decided by the investor
who shall take responsibility for his modification decision. The investor shall report to the investment decider on the
contents of modification of construction design which he decides on implementation.
3. The specialized construction body shall appraise the modified design and construction estimate in the following cases:

a) Modification of construction design due to the change of in engineering geology, design load, structural solutions and
materials used for load-bearing structures (except increasing the safety of the works) and measures to hold the
construction affecting the bearing safety of the works;

b) Modification of estimate of works construction due to the modification which results in the excess of total investment or
estimate of works construction approved by the investment decider.

4. For the modified design and estimate of works construction under the decision authority of the investor as stipulated in
Paragraph 2 of this Article and not subject to the appraisal as stipulated in Paragraph 3 of this Article, in case of
necessity, the investor shall organize the appraisal by himself as a basis for consideration and approval.

5. The approval for modified design and estimate of works construction from the investment decider and investor
consists of the modified contents or all contents of the design and estimate of works construction after modification. The
investment decider and investor shall approve the modified design and estimate of works construction which he has
decided on modification as stipulated in Paragraph 2 of this Article.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION
Article 18. Responsibility of the Ministry of Construction

In the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction, the Ministry of Construction shall:

1. Take charge and guide the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction of the Ministries, sectors,
localities and enterprises.

2. Assign and decentralize the specialized construction bodies in appraisal of project, design and estimate of works
construction

3. Periodically or irregularly inspect the appraisal implementation of the specialized construction bodies at all levels;
decide the revocation and cancellation of appraisal result or require the re-appraisal upon detection of error in the
appraisal which can affect the legitimacy, quality, safety, cost and construction progress; summarize and report the reality
of appraisal implementation.

4. Coordinate with the Ministries managing the specialized construction works to deal with the problems and
shortcomings in the appraisal of Ministries, sectors, investors and enterprises.

5. Provide the professional training on appraisal for the relevant bodies, organizations and individuals.

6. Issue and guide the application of assessment criteria in the appraisal; norm of cost of consultation for verification of
project, basic design, design and estimate of works construction.

Article 19. Responsibility of relevant Ministries and sectors

In the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction, the Ministries and sectors shall:

1. Ministries managing the specialized construction works shall:

a) Guide, direct and inspect the appraisal of the specialized construction bodies under their management ; assign and
decentralize the specialized construction bodies in appraisal of project, design, estimate of works construction; decide on
revocation and cancel the appraisal result or require re-appraisal upon detection of errors in the appraisal affecting the
legitimacy, quality, safety, cost and construction progress.

b) Coordinate with the other Ministries managing construction works and the provincial Peoples Committees in appraisal
for the projects of national importance, works construction project in line going through many areas.

c) Summarize and make the quarter report on the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction and
send it to the Ministry of Construction for summary and monitoring in the first 15 days of the subsequent quarter. The
form of appraisal report is specified in Appendix II of this Circular.

2. Ministries, sectors and governmental bodies, central bodies of political organizations and social - political
organizations

a) Exercise the rights and responsibilities of the investment decider as prescribed by law for projects which they decide
on investment.

b) Assign the subordinate specialized bodies to participate and coordinate the appraisal of project, design, estimate of
works construction under their management according to the laws on construction.

c) Inspect the appraisal of the subordinate specialized bodies and coordinate the timely settlement of problems arising
during the appraisal.

Article 20. Responsibility of provincial and district Peoples Committees

In the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction, the provincial and district Peoples Committees
shall:

1. Decide the assignment, decentralization and authorization of appraisal, approval for project, design, estimate of works
construction in the areas in line with the laws on construction and specific conditions of localities.

2. Direct and inspect the appraisal of the Departments managing the specialized construction works and the divisions in
charge of construction management of district Peoples Committees; decide the revocation and cancellation of appraisal
result or require re-appraisal upon detection of errors in the appraisal affecting the legitimacy, quality, safety, cost and
construction progress;

3. Promptly settle and deal with problems on procedures and coordinate the appraisal in the areas under their
management.

4. Summarize and make the quarter report on the appraisal of project, design and estimate of works construction and
send it to the Ministry of Construction for summary and monitoring in the first 15 days of the subsequent quarter. The
form of appraisal report is specified in Appendix II of this Circular.

Article 21. Transitional handling and effect

1. For the appraisal project, design and estimate of works construction:

a) The projects of construction investment, design and estimate of works constructions submitted to the competent
authorities for appraisal before the effective date of this Circular shall not have to be submitted for re-appraisal and shall
be appraised under the current regulations before the effective date of this Circular.

b) The modification of projects, design and estimate of works constructions after the effective date of this Circular.

2. Effect:

a) This Circular takes effect from 15/8/2016.

b) The provisions on verification, appraisal and approval for construction investment project, design, estimate of works
construction specified in Circular No.03/2009/TT-BXD dated 26/3/2009 of the Ministry of Construction detailing some
contents of Decree No. 12/2009/ND-CP dated 12/02/2009 of the Government on management of works construction
investment projects; Circular No. 10/2013/TT-BXD dated 25/7/2013 of the Ministry of Construction detailing some
contents on management of quality of construction works; Circular No. 13/2013/TT-BXD dated 15/8/2013 of the Ministry
of Construction on verification, appraisal and approval for design of works construction and Circular No. 09/2014/TT-
BXD dated 10/7/2014 of the Ministry of Construction on modification and addition of some articles of Circulars guiding
the Decree No. 15/2013/ND-CP dated 06/02/2013 of the Government on management of quality of construction works
shall be invalidated from the effective date of this Circular.

Any difficulty arising during the implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Construction
for review and modification accordingly./.

FOR THE MINISTER

DEPUTY MINISTER