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| Upgrading National Highway 57 with a total length of 39.19 kilometers and a total investment of VND 875 billion__Photo: Cong Tri/VNA |
The Government has recently issued Decree 275/2025/ND-CP, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 85/2025/ND-CP dated April 8, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment. The amendments and supplementations focus on completing the legal framework for special projects and appraisal of funding sources, and clarifying the mechanism for modifying public investment plans in order to ensure their flexibility and effectiveness.
Five-step procedures for nuclear power projects
One of the supplemented provisions of the new decree is Article 9a on detailed order and procedures for deciding on investment policy for nuclear power plant projects under the Prime Minister’s competence.
The decision process consists of five steps:
. Assignment of tasks: The Prime Minister assigns a ministry, central agency or local administration to act as the agency in prime charge of the project implementation. This agency may mandate its attached unit to formulate a pre-feasibility study report and then establish an appraisal council (or to organize the appraisal) and finalize a project report for submission to the Prime Minister.
. Establishment of a state appraisal council: The Prime Minister establishes a state appraisal council with the Minister of Industry and Trade as the chairperson or assigns the Ministry of Industry and Trade to act as the agency in charge of appraisal of the pre-feasibility study report.
The new decree permits the state-level appraisal council to be established concurrently with the report formulation process. The council may invite experts and experienced organizations and individuals to participate in the appraisal.
. Fund evaluation by the Ministry of Finance: The Ministry of Finance assumes the prime responsibility for evaluating funding sources, the fund-balancing capacity and capital allocation plan and then send evaluation results to the state appraisal council (or the agency in charge of appraisal).
. Report finalization: The state appraisal council or the agency in charge of appraisal will send its official appraisal opinions to the agency in charge of formulating the pre-feasibility study report for completion and submission of the dossier to the Prime Minister.
. Issuance of the Prime Minister’s decision: The Prime Minister considers and decides on the investment policy of the project, including its objectives, scale, total investment, location, implementation period, along with special mechanisms, solutions and policies for project implementation.
New planning and funding source adjustment procedures
The new decree contains Article 15a setting limits of to-be-appraised funding sources and the fund-balancing capacity for public investment programs and projects.
. Regarding funding sources for the subsequent period: After the competent authority notifies the total public investment capital amount for the subsequent period (under Article 59.4 of the Law on Public Investment), if this amount is greater than the limit specified in Article 36a.1 of the Law on Public Investment, ministries, agencies and localities shall appraise expected funding sources to ensure that the projected total investment does not exceed the notified total capital amount.
. Regarding projects "awaiting" funding sources: Programs and projects whose funding sources have been appraised (though not yet balanced in the current medium-term public investment plan) and investment policy approved according to the previously set limits may continue to be considered when their funding sources are available.
. Regarding funding sources in the current period: Ministries and agencies shall appraise the funding sources and fund-balancing capacity within the assigned total investment amount of the current medium-term public investment plan.
. Regarding ODA/concessional loans: Based on letters of expression of interest or written commitments of foreign donors, the Ministry of Finance shall report the intended use of these funding sources to the Prime Minister for approval. This will serve as the basis for ministries, sectors and localities to prepare and appraise the investment policy and evaluate fund-balancing capacity.- (VLLF)
