MOC has sent a document to the Hanoi People’s Committee, guiding the procedures for building new headquarters of the US Embassy in Hanoi on the D30 land plot in Cau Giay district. 

The ministry said Hanoi needs to clarify if the project is a project with specific characteristics and if it is a secret state work. Hanoi also needs to know if international treaties of which Vietnam is a signatory have provisions contradictory to Vietnam’s Construction Law.

If the construction work is not a State secret work and there is no international commitment which conflicts with the Construction Law, the project will be implemented in accordance with the Construction Law.

Regarding the construction permit, according to Clause 1 of Article 89 of the law that amends and supplements some articles of the Construction Law (Law No62/2020/QH14), construction works must have construction permits granted by appropriate agencies to project investors, except cases shown in Clause 2 of the article.

With information shown in Document 238/UBND-DT, the new US Embassy headquarters is not subject to exemption of construction permits as stipulated in Clause 2 of the article, unless the work is defined as a State secret work, which is implemented in accordance with Clause 1 of Article 129 of the 2014 Construction Law, and Clause 1 of Article 57 of the Government’s Decree No 15/2021.

MOC has suggested that the Hanoi People’s Committee contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Public Security in accordance with Clauses 2 and 5 of Article 9 of the 2018 Law on Protection of State Secrets for detailed guidance.

Article 2 of Law No 62/2020/QH14 stipulates that if international treaties of which Vietnam is a member contain provisions which are contradictory to the law, the international treaties will be applied.

MOC asked the Hanoi People’s Committee to consider the legal records of the project to strictly follow laws on investment and construction, and international treaties between the Government of Vietnam and the US, if any.

Regarding the procedures for appraising the feasibility study, MOC said if the project is defined as a secret State work, the investor has to implement the project in accordance with the Clause 2 of Article 129 of the 2014 Construction Law, and Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 57 of the Decree 15/2021/ND-CP.

In remaining cases, it’s necessary to implement the project in accordance with the Construction Law and Decree No 15/2021-ND-CP, based on capital sources and project scale.

Thanh Son