Detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Bidding Law on selecting investors to implement projects in case the bidding must be organized according to the provisions of law on industry and field management

On 27/2/2024, the Government has just issued Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Bidding Law on selecting investors to implement projects in case the bidding must be organized according to the provisions of law on industry and field management.

The Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP specifically regulates the projects subject to bidding to select investors according to the provisions of law on industry and field management, including:

a- International football betting business project according to the provisions of law on the business of betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international football;

b- Investment projects to build domestic solid waste treatment works according to the provisions of law on environmental protection;

c- Dredging projects in seaport and inland waterways combined with products recovery according to the provisions of law on maritime traffic and inland waterways;

d- Projects for specialized aviation services at airports and aerodromes according to the provisions of law on civil aviation, except for aviation operating centers of domestic airlines at airports, aerodromes;

đ- Specialized road traffic service projects according to the provisions of law on road traffic including mixed-function areas serving public and commercial purposes;

e- Investment projects to renovate and rebuild apartment buildings according to the provisions of housing law;

g- Investment projects to build water supply projects, investment projects to build water supply systems according to the provisions of law on production, supply and consumption of clean water;

h- Projects subject to bidding must be held when there are 02 or more interested investors registering for implementation, including: projects in the fields of education, vocational training, health, culture, and sports, environment according to the provisions of law on encouraging socialization, except for projects specified in points b and g above; horse and greyhound racing investment projects, including business activities of betting on horse racing and greyhound racing according to legal regulations on business of betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international football; investment projects to build social housing according to the provisions of housing law.

The projects that do not organize investor selection according to the provisions of this Decree include:

- The projects using land in the form of transfer, lease of land use rights, receipt of capital contribution by land use rights for production and business according to the provisions of land law;

- The project falls under the conditions and is eligible for the auction of land use rights according to the provisions of land law and the law on management and use of public assets;

- The project is allocated or leased land by the State not through the auction of land use rights, not through bidding to select investors according to the provisions of land law.

The Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP also clearly stipulates incentives in investor selection. Specifically: Investors have solutions to apply advanced technology, high technology, environmentally friendly technology, and the best available techniques to minimize environmental pollution for projects in the at-risk group at high level of negative impact on the environment according to the provisions of law on environmental protection that are entitled to a 5% incentive when evaluating bids;

The investor commits to transferring technology that belongs to the List of technologies prioritized for investment and development according to the law on high technology or to the List of technologies encouraged for transfer according to the law on technology transfer is entitled to a 2% incentive when evaluating bids.

The Decree requires that when bidding, investors must submit documents proving technology application solutions, technology transfer and the right to legally use technology according to the provisions of law on high technology and technology transfer, environmental protection, and other relevant laws to enjoy prescribed incentives.

Investors who are eligible for incentives and selected to sign contracts must comply with their commitments in the bid documents and business investment project contracts.

Regarding the process and procedures for selecting investors, the Decree also stipulates the process and procedures for selecting specific investors: For projects applying open bidding, limited bidding according to the method one phase, one envelope of documents and the project applies open bidding according to the method of one phase, two envelopes of documents: Announcement of business investment project; prepare bidding for investor selection; organize bidding to select investors; evaluate bid documents; submit, appraise, approve and publicize investor selection results; negotiate, finalize and sign contracts.

For projects applying open bidding according to the two-phase, one-envelope method: Announcement of business investment project; prepare bidding to select investors for phase one; organize bidding to select investors for phase one; prepare and organize bidding to select investors for phase two; evaluate bid documents for phase two; submit, appraise, approve, and publicize investor selection results; negotiate, finalize and sign contracts.

This Decree takes effect from the date of signing.

From the effective date of this Decree, Point c, Clause 1, Article 1 and Article 16 of Decree No. 25/2020/ND-CP dated February 28, 2020 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Bidding Law on investor selection, Clause 7, Article 108 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP dated March 26, 2021 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law Investment expire.

In case the law governing the industry or field stipulates that a project will be held for bidding after the effective date of the Decree, the selection of investors to carry out business investment projects shall be performed according to the order and procedures stipulated in the Bidding Law and this Decree; the methods and standards for evaluating project registration documents, bidding documents, and other contents (if any) comply with the provisions of law on industry and field management, ensuring competition goals, fairness, transparency, economic efficiency and accountability.