Foreign investors must go through a number of investment, land, construction, and environment procedures in order to operate a project using land (Investment Procedures) in Vietnam. The Investment Procedures have been provided in various legal instruments and involved a number of State licensing authorities. Given the lack of clarity at law, the Investment Procedures are applied differently and inconsistently by licensing authorities. Hopefully, this unpleasant practice would be changed when, for the first time, the Government introduced the unified process of all Investment Procedures in its Resolution 43 dated 6 June 2014 (Resolution 43). Whereby, the Government requires all relevant State authorities to consistently carry out the Investment Procedures with specific steps, order, timing and in-charge agencies. Resolution 43 provides the Investment Procedures in three categories in respect of:

Investment projects using land through auction of land use rights (LURs);
Investment projects using land through bidding to choose the investors;
Investment projects with allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions.

Resolution 43 phases the Investment Procedures into two stages:

Stage 1: Prior to amendments to relevant laws and ordinances, relevant State authorities are required adjust their regulations and procedures in line with the unified Investment Procedures as described in Annex I of Resolution 43. For example, with regard to investment projects using allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions, the Investment Procedures shall be unified as provided in table 1 below.

Stage 2: when relevant laws and ordinances are amended, the unified Investment Procedures as described in Annex II of Resolution 43 shall be implemented.

The Government’s attempt to provide more transparent and consistent Investment Procedures should be appreciated. However, the enforcement of the unified Investment Procedures will be definitely another story. Hanoi People’s Committee also issued Decision 4752 on 12 September 2014 to guide the implementation of the unified Investment Procedures of Resolution 43. Foreign investors of projects using land in Hanoi can test now how the unified Investment Procedures of Resolution 43 to be implemented.

Table 1: the unified Investment Procedures with regard to investment projects using allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions

No	Procedures	Application scope
1.	In-principle approval for the investment project (the details of procedures are provided in Resolution 43)	Projects using allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions under the Law on Land 2013 and not falling within investment projects on the land that the investors have had the LURs.
2.	Formulation, assessment and approval for the detail planning (Quy hoạch chi tiết)/master plan (Quy hoạch tổng mặt bằng)	Construction projects in the urban areas, including: · Projects require to adjust boundaries or contents of the use of urban land where the detail planning has been approved. · Projects to build construction works in the urban areas without having an approved detail planning or zoning planning (Quy hoạch phân khu); · Projects to build an individual construction work (except housing) in the urban areas without having an approved detail planning or urban design.
3.	Opinions on basic design	[…]. Subject to relevant regulations, investors will need to collect opinions on basic design.
4.	Information/ agreement on the water supply and drainage, electricity supply	Construction investment projects
5.	Assessment of the fire fighting and prevention design	Construction investment projects as prescribed in the Appendix 3 of the Decree 46/2012 of the Government
6.	Approval for the investment in the housing development projects/ appraisal, approval for new urban zone projects	The housing development projects and new urban zone projects
7.	Environment Protection Commitment/ Appraisal, approval for Environment Impact Assessment Report (EIAR)	Projects must have EIARs: · Projects subject to in-principle approval of the National Assembly or the Prime Minister · Projects using land of the wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, cultural-historic sites, world heritage sites, biosphere reserves, ranked landscapes; · Projects having negative impacts on the environmental and social factors. Projects must fulfill the environment protection commitments: the production, business and service establishments with households scale, implementing projects in sector or business lines which are likely to cause environmental pollution.
8.	Announcement of land revocation	Projects using land which is revoked by the State
9.	Decision on land allocation, land lease and conversion of land use purposes.	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
10.	Data collection, formulation, approval and announcement of plan for compensation, site clearance, payment of compensation and site hand-over	Projects using land which is revoked by the State
11.	Hiring valuation organizations to prepare an application dossier for the valuation of land use fee and land rental.	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
12.	Appraisal of the valuation application dossier, determination of the price unit of the land use fee and land rental	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
13.	Approval for the unit price of the land use fee and land rental.	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
14.	Signing of Land lease Contract and fulfillment of financial obligations to the State	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
15.	Hand-over of land on the map and on site	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
16.	Issuance of the LURs Certificate	Projects using land except for the projects using land that investors have had the LURs and the utilization of that land complies with approved planning(s).
17.	Design assessment	· Apartment buildings from Class III; individual houses having 7 floors or more. · Public works from Class III; · Industrial construction works: Transmission lines, hydroelectric plants, thermal power plants, smelters, alumina manufacturing plants, cement plants from Class III; petrochemical plants, gas processing plants, storage buildings, gas, oil, liquefied petroleum pipelines, manufacturing plants and warehouses of hazardous chemicals, and industrial explosives regardless of Classes; · Traffic construction works: Bridges, tunnels, roads from Class III which are funded from the State budget and from Class II which are funded from other capital; railways, airports, terminals, floating docks, inland ports, system of cable transport for people system, regardless of Classes; · Agricultural construction works: reservoirs, dams, drains, channels, closed water pipes, hydraulic tunnels, dikes, embankments, pumping stations and other Irrigational works regardless of Classes; · Infrastructural construction works: Infrastructural constructions from Class III which are funded from the State budget and from Class II funded from other capital; hazardous solid waste treatment construction works regardless of Classes.
18.	Announcement to construction commencement	Construction investment projects
19.	Inspection of final assessment of the construction works before operation	· Apartment buildings from Class III; individual houses having 7 floors or more. · Public works from Class III; · Industrial construction works: Transmission lines, hydroelectric plants, thermal power plants, smelters, alumina manufacturing plants, cement plants from Class III; petrochemical plants, gas processing plants, storage buildings, gas, oil, liquefied petroleum pipelines, manufacturing plants and warehouses of hazardous chemicals, and industrial explosives regardless of Classes; · Traffic construction works: Bridges, tunnels, roads from Class III which are funded from the state budget and from Class II which are funded from other capital; railways, airports, terminals, floating docks, inland ports, system of cable transport for people system, regardless of Classes; · Agricultural construction works: reservoirs, dams, drains, channels, closed water pipes, hydraulic tunnels, dikes, embankments, pumping stations and other Irrigational works regardless of Classes; · Infrastructural construction works: Infrastructural constructions from Class III which are funded from the State budget and from Class II funded from other capital; hazardous solid waste treatment construction works regardless of Classes.
20.	Inspection and confirmation of the implementation of the works and measures to protect the environment for project operation	Projects must have EIARs
21.	Other permits and license	Projects falling within the conditional investment sectors

This post is contributed by my colleague, Ha Thi Dzung.

Vietnam Business Law