Chương I: Quy định chung

CIRCULAR

PRESCRIBING FORMS OF BIDDING DOCUMENTS FOR SELECTION OF INVESTORS EXECUTING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS AND BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS; PROVISION AND PUBLISHING OF INFORMATION ON PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP INVESTMENT, AND BIDDING FOR INVESTOR SELECTION ON VIETNAM NATIONAL E-PROCUREMENT SYSTEM

Pursuant to the Law on Bidding dated June 23, 2023;

Pursuant to the Land Law dated January 18, 2024;

Pursuant to the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment dated June 18, 2020;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP dated March 29, 2021 providing guidelines for implementation of the Law on public-private partnership investment;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP dated September 16, 2024 elaborating and providing guidelines for implementation of the Law on Bidding regarding selection of investors executing investment projects involving land use;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP dated February 27, 2024 elaborating and providing guidelines for implementation of the Law on Bidding regarding selection of investors for projects which require bidding as prescribed by specialized laws;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 89/2022/ND-CP dated October 28, 2022 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam;

At the request of the Director General of the Public Procurement Agency;

The Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam promulgates a Circular prescribing forms of bidding documents for selection of investors executing public-private partnership projects and business investment projects; provision and publishing of information on public-private partnership investment, and bidding for investor selection on Vietnam National E-Procurement System.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular introduces regulations on:

1. Forms of bidding documents for selection of investors executing public-private partnership (PPP) projects and business investment projects.

2. Provision and publishing of information on PPP investment, and bidding for investor selection on Vietnam National E-Procurement System.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Organizations and individuals involved in investor selection subject to the scope prescribed in Article 1 of this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals carrying out investor selection which is not subject to the scope of the Law on Bidding may apply provisions of this Circular at their discretion. If they wish to apply provisions of this Circular, procedures for provision and publishing of information shall be followed according to the Instructions for use on Vietnam National E-Procurement System.

Article 3. Definitions

1. Vietnam National E-Procurement System (hereinafter referred to as “VNEPS”), National Enterprise Registration Information System, digital certificates used on VNEPS, Instructions for use, and task-specific account are construed according to clauses 1, 2, 6, 7 and 10 Article 3 of the Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BKHDT dated April 26, 2024 of the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam providing guidelines on provision and publishing of information on contractor selection and forms of bidding documents on VNEPS (hereinafter referred to as “Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BKHDT”).

2. Abbreviations in this Circular and on the System include:

a) E-KSQT means online investor interest survey for PPP project;

b) E-HSQT means online expression of interest (EOI) for PPP project;

c) E-TBMST means online invitation for prequalification applications for PPP project;

d) E-HSMST means online prequalification documents for PPP project;

dd) E-HSDST means online prequalification application for PPP project.

3. Electronic document means a document or piece of information that is successfully sent, received and retained on VNEPS, including:

a) Decision on approval of investment guidelines (for a project whose investment guidelines require approval in accordance with regulations of the Law on Investment) or written approval of project information (for a project whose investment guidelines do not require approval);

b) Investor selection progress monitoring sheet for business investment project;

c) E-TBMST, E-TBMQT, invitation for EOI, invitation for prequalification applications, invitation for bid;

d) E-KSQT, E-HSMST;

dd) E-KSQT, E-HSMST, EOI request, bidding documents;

e) Consortium agreement;

g) Bid opening record, E-HSQT or E-HSDST opening record;

h) Shortlist; invitation for EOI result; list of technically responsive investors; investor selection result;

i) Clarifications or modifications to E-KSQT, E-HSMST, E-HSQT, E-HSDST, EOI request, applications for project execution, bidding documents, bids; petition against the investor selection result and other issues concerning the online investor selection;

k) Other documents in electronic format exchanged on VNEPS.

4. Invalid information means information published on VNEPS by any of the entities prescribed in Article 2 of this Circular against regulations of the Law on PPP investment, the Law on Bidding, specialized sector/industry law and other relevant laws.

5. VNEPS participant means an authority or organization that applies for participation in VNEPS in one or some of the following roles:

a) Competent authority, authority signing the contract;

b) Procuring entity, EOI requester;

c) Investor;

d) Department of Planning and Investment of province or central-affiliated city, economic zone management board (hereinafter referred to as “Provincial Department of Planning and Investment/economic zone management board”);

dd) Affiliated agency or unit or specialized agency that is delegated to use a task-specific account created by a competent authority.

6. Participant account means an account granted by Vietnam National E-Procurement Center to a VNEPS participant for playing one or some of the roles specified in clause 5 of this Article.

Article 4. Application of online investor selection

1. Online investor selection does not yet apply to the following projects:

a) PPP projects applying international prequalification, international competitive bidding, competitive negotiation or direct contracting;

b) Business investment projects applying international bidding.

2. Roadmap for application of online investor selection:

Ministries, ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, and provincial People’s Committees organize online investor selection according to the roadmap below:

a) From the effective date of this Circular as prescribed in clause 1 Article 22 of this Circular, information on PPP projects and business investment projects shall be provided and published on VNEPS.

b) From the effective date of this Circular as prescribed in clause 2 Article 22 of this Circular, issuance of E-KSQT, E-HSMST and submission of E-HSQT, E-HSDST for PPP projects shall be made on VNEPS.

c) From September 01, 2025, issuance of E-HSMQT and submission of E-HSDKTHDA for business investment projects shall be made on VNEPS.

d) From January 01, 2026, issuance of E-HSMT and submission of E-HSDT for business investment projects applying domestic competitive bidding or domestic limited bidding under single-stage one-envelope procedure or single-stage two-envelope procedure, and PPP projects applying domestic competitive bidding shall be made on VNEPS.

Article 5. Preparation of E-KSQT, E-HSMST, prequalification documents, negotiation documents and bidding documents for PPP projects

1. Procuring entities/expert teams shall prepare prequalification documents, negotiation documents, and bidding documents in accordance with provisions of the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment (hereinafter referred to as “PPP Law”), the Government’s Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP dated March 29, 2021 elaborating and providing guidelines for implementation of PPP Law (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP”), guidelines for PPP investment of Ministries or ministerial agencies (if any) and relevant laws as follows:

a) E-KSQT shall be prepared using the form in Appendix I enclosed herewith;

b) E-KSQT for a project that has special elements and thus needs innovations in order to shorten the project duration and complete construction of the work or infrastructure system within a given period of time, achieve high energy-saving rate, and ensure environmental protection (if the project is classified in the group of projects posing high risk of adverse environmental impacts) according to provision of the Law on Environmental Protection shall be prepared using the form in Appendix II enclosed herewith;

c) E-HSMST for PPP projects employing domestic prequalification procedures shall be made using the form in Appendix III enclosed herewith. Prequalification documents for PPP projects employing international prequalification procedures are made using the E-HSMST form in Appendix III enclosed herewith which may be modified but must still be conformable with provisions of the PPP Law and Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP.

d) Negotiation documents shall be made using the form in Appendix IV enclosed herewith, and applied to projects executed employing competitive negotiation as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law;

dd) Bidding documents shall be made using the form in Appendix V enclosed herewith and applied to projects employing prequalification procedures;

e) Bidding documents shall be made using the form in Appendix VI enclosed herewith, and applied to projects executed without employing prequalification procedures and projects executed employing competitive negotiation as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 38 of the PPP Law;

g) Bidding documents shall be made using the form in Appendix VII enclosed herewith, and applied to projects executed employing competitive negotiation as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law.

2. With regard to projects executed employing direct contracting method as prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 39 of the PPP Law, bidding documents shall be made using the form in Appendix VI enclosed herewith which may be modified but must still be conformable with provisions of the PPP Law, Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP and relevant laws. Bidding documents shall not include contents concerning comparison and ranking of investors.

3. In the forms provided in Appendixes I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII enclosed herewith, italicized text provides instructions and illustrative provisions and shall be specified in detail in prequalification documents, negotiation documents or bidding documents according to the scale, nature, field or sector and specific conditions (if any) of each project.

Article 6. Preparation of invitation for EOI, EOI request and bidding documents for business investment projects

EOI requesters, procuring entities and expert teams shall prepare invitation for EOI, EOI request, and bidding documents in accordance with provisions of the Law on Bidding, the Government’s Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP dated September 16, 2024 elaborating some articles of and introducing measures for implementing the Law on Bidding regarding selection of investors executing investment projects involving land use (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP”), the Government’s Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP dated February 27, 2024 elaborating and providing guidelines for implementation of Law on Bidding regarding selection of investors for projects which require bidding as prescribed by specialized sector or industry laws (as amended in Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP”), guidelines given by supervisory ministries (if any) and relevant laws as follows:

1. For investment projects involving land use subject to the scope of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP:

a) Invitation for EOI and EOI request are made using the forms in Appendix VIII enclosed herewith;

b) Bidding documents are made using the form in Appendix IX enclosed herewith and applied to projects applying competitive bidding or limited bidding under single-stage one-envelope procedure;

c) Bidding documents are made using the form in Appendix X enclosed herewith and applied to projects applying competitive bidding under single-stage two-envelope procedure;

d) For investment projects on construction of energy works, bidding documents are made according to guidelines given by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam as prescribed in point c clause 2 Article 74 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP.

2. For projects requiring bidding as prescribed in specialized sector or industry laws subject to the scope of Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP:

a) Invitation for EOI and EOI request are made using the forms in Appendix VIII enclosed herewith with appropriate modifications;

b) Bidding documents are made using the form in Appendix XI enclosed herewith and applied to projects applying competitive bidding or limited bidding under single-stage one-envelope procedure;

c) Bidding documents are made using the form in Appendix XII enclosed herewith and applied to projects applying competitive bidding under single-stage two-envelope procedure.

3. For projects applying competitive bidding under two-stage one-envelope procedure:

a) Bidding documents for investment projects involving land use subject to the scope of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP are made using the form in Appendix IX enclosed herewith which may be modified but must comply with provisions of the Law on Bidding No. 22/2023/QH15 and Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP .

b) Bidding documents for projects which require bidding as prescribed in specialized sector or industry laws and are subject to the scope of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP are made using the form in Appendix XI enclosed herewith which may be modified but must comply with provisions of the Law on Bidding No. 22/2023/QH15 and Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP .

4. In the forms provided in Appendixes VIII, IX, X, XI and XII enclosed herewith, italicized text provides instructions and illustrative provisions and shall be specified in detail in EOI request or bidding documents according to the scale, nature, field or sector and specific conditions (if any) of each project.

Chapter II

PROVISION AND PUBLISHING OF INFORMATION ON PPP INVESTMENT, AND BIDDING FOR INVESTOR SELECTION ON VNEPS

Article 7. Rules for provision and publishing of information, online investor selection on VNEPS

1. Formats of attached files; technical actions against out-of-control VNEPS failure; account management and use of digital certificates; sending and receipt of electronic documents on VNEPS; IT infrastructure conditions shall comply with provisions of Articles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BKHDT and its amending and/or superseding documents (if any).

2. VNEPS operating unit shall discharge its responsibilities as prescribed in Article 52 of the Law on Bidding, Article 23 of the Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BKHDT and corresponding responsibilities for provision and publishing of information, online investor selection as prescribed herein.

3. Rules for publishing other information on investor selection, including bid opening record, bid cancellation decision, response to a petition and list of technically responsive bidders, on VNEPS and procedures for publishing information on VNEPS shall comply with provisions of Articles 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BKHDT .

Article 8. Project information and investor interest survey

1. For PPP projects:

a) The competent authority shall publish the project information which must be accompanied with the decision on approval of investment guidelines, decision on modifications to investment guidelines (if any), decision on approval of the project, decision on approval of modifications to the project (if any) on VNEPS not later than 10 days from the issue date of this decision as prescribed in point c clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP and its amending and/or superseding documents (if any).

b) The competent authority creates a task-specific account and delegate the account use right to the unit that prepares the project or the agency or unit in charge of receiving the project proposal for publishing the notice of investor interest survey on VNEPS. The investor interest survey shall be carried out in accordance with Article 25 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP .

2. For business investment projects:

a) For projects whose investment guidelines require approval:

The competent authority shall publish the project and decision on approval of investment guidelines on VNEPS within 05 working days from the issue date of the decision on approval of investment guidelines as prescribed in clause 2 Article 10 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , Article 9 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in clause 6 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) and their amending and/or superseding documents (if any).

b) For projects whose investment guidelines do not require approval:

The competent authority shall publish the project and decision on approval of the project information on VNEPS within 05 working days from the issue date of the approval decision as prescribed in point c clause 1 and point d clause 2 Article 11 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , point c clause 1 and point d clause 2 Article 10 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in clause 7 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP).

Article 9. Issuance, modification and clarification of E-KSQT; extension of deadline for E-HSQT submission for PPP projects

1. E-KSQT is issued free of charge on VNEPS.

2. In case modifications are made to E-KSQT after it is issued, the unit that prepares the project or the agency or unit in charge of receiving the project proposal shall publish the following documents on VNEPS:

a) The modification decision and specific modifications to E-KSQT;

b) The modified E-KSQT.

3. Clarification:

a) An investor requiring any clarification of E-KSQT shall send its request for clarification to the unit in charge of preparing PPP project or the agency or unit in charge of receiving the PPP project proposal via VNEPS at least 02 working days before the deadline for E-HSQT submission.

b) A response to the investor’s request for clarification of E-KSQT shall be published on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the deadline for E-HSQT submission, and must include a description of the inquiry but without identifying the requesting investor.

c) Clarifications to E-KSQT must not be contrary to the contents of the approved E-KSQT.

Should the clarifications to E-KSQT result in changes to E-KSQT, the modification of E-KSQT shall be subject to provisions of clause 2 of this Article.

4. Extension of deadline for E-HSQT submission:

If the deadline for E-HSQT submission is extended, a notice of extension which clearly indicates the following information shall be published on VNEPS:

a) Reasons for extension;

b) New deadline for E-HSQT submission.

Article 10. Invitation for prequalification applications, E-TBMST and invitation for bid for PPP projects

1. The procuring entity shall publish the invitation for prequalification applications for a project applying international prequalification procedure; E-TBMST for a project applying domestic prequalification procedure; invitation for bid for a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP law on VNEPS, and send the same to investors that have applied for project execution as prescribed in Article 25 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP/ND-CP based on the project execution progress and investor selection schedule specified in the decision on approval of PPP project.

2. Modification or cancelation of the invitation for prequalification applications, E-TBMST or invitation for bid shall be made only before the bid submission deadline, unless no prequalification application, E-HSDST or bid is received.

Article 11. Issuance of negotiation documents; issuance, modification and clarification of prequalification documents, E-HSMST; extension of bid submission deadline for PPP projects

1. Issuance:

a) Prequalification documents for projects applying international prequalification procedure, E-HSMST for projects applying domestic prequalification procedure and negotiation documents for projects applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law are issued free of charge on VNEPS at the same time as invitation for prequalification applications, E-TBMST or invitation for bid. The procuring entity must enclose the following documents with their published invitation for prequalification applications, E-TBMST or invitation for bid:

- Decision on approval of prequalification documents, E-HSMST or negotiation documents for a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law;

- Approved prequalification documents, E-HSMST or negotiation documents.

The procuring entity shall not be allowed to issue physical copies of prequalification documents or negotiation documents to investors. The physical copies issued by the procuring entity to investors shall not be considered as valid grounds for preparation and evaluation of prequalification applications or negotiation applications in respect of a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law.

b) If there are discrepancies between the prequalification documents, for a project applying international prequalification procedure, or negotiation documents for a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law published on VNEPS and the approved prequalification documents or negotiation documents, the latter shall be used as the basis for preparation and evaluation of prequalification applications or negotiation applications.

c) If there are discrepancies between the E-HSMST for a PPP project applying domestic prequalification procedure published on VNEPS and the approved E-HSMST, the former be used as the basis for preparation and evaluation of E-HSDST.

2. Modification:

a) In case of offline investor selection, if modifications are made to the prequalification documents after they are issued, the procuring entity shall publish one of the following documents on VNEPS:

- A modification decision enclosed with specific modifications to the prequalification documents;

- A modification decision and the modified prequalification documents in which modified contents must be clearly indicated;

b) In case of online investor selection, if modifications are made to E-HSMST after it is issued, the procuring entity shall publish the following documents on VNEPS:

- A modification decision enclosed with specific modifications to E-HSMST;

- The modified E-HSMST.

c) Such modifications must be made within the time limit prescribed in clause 10 Article 31 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP. In case of failure to publish modifications within such prescribed time limit, the procuring entity shall extend as necessary the bid submission deadline.

3. Clarification:

a) In case of online prequalification, the investor requiring any clarification of E-HSMST shall send its request for clarification to the procuring entity via VNEPS at least 05 working days before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point c clause 2 Article 39 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP .

The procuring entity shall publish its response to the investor’s request for clarification of E-HSMST on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the bid submission deadline.

b) An investor requiring any clarification of prequalification documents shall send its written request for clarification to the procuring entity or via VNEPS at least 05 working days before the bid submission deadline. The procuring entity shall respond to the investor’s request for clarification of the prequalification documents adopting any of the following approaches:

- Publishing its response to the investor’s request for clarification of prequalification documents on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the bid submission deadline; or

- Where necessary, the procuring entity may convene a pre-bid meeting to clarify the contents of prequalification documents as requested by investors. The procuring entity shall record all contents discussed at the meeting in the meeting minutes and include them in the record of clarifications to prequalification documents which shall be then published on VNEPS;

c) Clarifications to the prequalification documents or E-HSMST must not be contrary to the contents of the approved prequalification documents or E-HSMST. Should the clarifications to prequalification documents or E-HSMST result in changes to prequalification documents or E-HSMST, the modification of prequalification documents or E-HSMST shall be subject to provisions of clause 2 of this Article.

4. Extension of bid submission deadline:

In case of extension of the bid submission deadline made on VNEPS, the procuring entity shall publish the extension notice which must be enclosed with the extension decision on VNEPS. Such notice must clearly indicate:

a) Reasons for extension;

b) The new bid submission deadline.

Article 12. Shortlist for PPP projects

1. Time limit for publishing a shortlist:

a) The procuring entity shall publish the shortlist on VNEPS within 10 days after the shortlist is approved as prescribed in point b clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP .

b) For a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clause 1 Article 38 of the PPP Law, the procuring entity shall publish the shortlist on VNEPS within 10 days from the issue date of the decision on approval of the project as prescribed in point b clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP .

2. Attachments:

The procuring entity shall attach the following documents to its published shortlist:

a) Decision on approval of prequalification result, for a project applying prequalification procedures;

b) Decision on approval of the project, for a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clause 1 Article 38 of the PPP Law;

c) Decision on approval of the shortlist, for a project applying competitive negotiation as prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 38 of the PPP Law.

Article 13. Investor selection progress monitoring sheet for business investment projects

The competent authority creates a task-specific account and delegates the account use right to its affiliated agency or unit or specialized agency to post the investor selection progress monitoring sheet and decision on approval thereof on VNEPS within 05 working days from the issue date of the approval decision as prescribed in clause 5 Article 12 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , clause 5 Article 11 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in clause 8 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP).

Article 14. Issuance, modification and clarification of EOI request; extension of deadline for submission of applications for project execution for business investment projects

1. Issuance:

EOI request shall be issued free of charge at the same time as the invitation for EOI on VNEPS. The EOI requester must also attach the following documents to its published invitation for EOI:

a) Decision on approval of EOI request;

b) The approved EOI request.

The EOI requester shall not be allowed to issue the physical copy of the EOI request. The physical copy issued by the EOI requester to investors shall not be considered as valid grounds for preparation and evaluation of applications for project execution.

2. Modification:

If modifications are made to the EOI request after it is issued, the EOI requester shall publish the following documents on VNEPS:

a) The modification decision enclosed with specific modifications to the EOI request;

b) The modified EOI request.

Such modifications must be made within the time limit prescribed in clause 3 Article 40 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , clause 3 Article 39 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP.

3. Clarification:

a) An investor requiring clarification of the EOI request shall send its request for clarification to the EOI requester via VNEPS at least 05 days before the deadline for submission of applications for project execution as prescribed in point a clause 4 Article 40 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , point a clause 4 Article 39 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP ;

b) The EOI requester shall publish its response to the investor’s request for clarification of EOI request on VNEPS at least 02 days before the deadline for submission of applications for project execution as prescribed in point b clause 4 Article 40 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , point b clause 4 Article 39 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP ;

c) Clarifications to the EOI request must not be contrary to the contents of the EOI request published on VNEPS. Should the clarifications to the EOI request result in changes to the EOI request, the modification of the EOI request shall be subject to provisions of clause 2 of this Article.

4. Extension of deadline for submission of applications for project execution:

If the deadline for submission of applications for project execution needs to be extended, the EOI requester shall publish the extension notice and decision on approval of such extension on VNEPS. Such notice must include reasons for extension and the new deadline.

Article 15. Shortlist for business investment projects applying limited bidding method

The procuring entity shall publish the approved shortlist and the decision on approval of such shortlist on VNEPS in conformity with the investor selection progress monitoring sheet.

Article 16. Issuance, modification and clarification of bidding documents; extension of bid submission deadline for PPP projects and business investment projects

1. Issuance of bidding documents:

a) For PPP projects applying competitive bidding with prequalification procedure or competitive negotiation as prescribed in Article 38 of the PPP Law, bidding documents are issued on VNEPS to shortlisted investors. The investor is required to pay an amount equaling the selling price of 01 set of bidding documents when submitting its bid;

b) For PPP projects applying competitive bidding without prequalification procedure, the procuring entity shall provide all files of the bidding documents free of charge on VNEPS;

c) For business investment projects applying domestic competitive bidding, bidding documents are issued free of charge on VNEPS. The procuring entity shall post all files of the bidding documents on VNEPS;

d) For business investment projects applying domestic limited bidding, bidding documents are issued free of charge on VNEPS to shortlisted investors. The procuring entity shall post all files of the bidding documents on VNEPS;

dd) For business investment projects applying international bidding, bidding documents are issued on VNEPS. The investor shall pay an amount equaling the selling price of 01 set of electronic bidding documents when submitting its bid as prescribed in point a clause 9 Article 6, point c clause 2 Article 16 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in point a clause 11 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) and point a clause 9 Article 7, point c clause 2 Article 17 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP ;

e) The procuring entity shall not be allowed to issue physical copies of bidding documents to investors. The physical copies issued by the procuring entity to investors shall not be considered as valid grounds for preparation and evaluation of bids;

g) The procuring entity must also attach the following documents to its published invitation for bid:

- The decision on approval of bidding documents;

- The approved bidding documents.

h) If there are discrepancies between the bidding documents published on VNEPS and the approved bidding documents, the latter shall be used as the basis for preparation and evaluation of bids.

2. Modification of bidding documents:

a) For PPP projects: If modifications are made to the bidding documents after they are issued, the procuring entity shall send the modification decision enclosed with specific modifications to the bidding documents to the shortlisted investors (in case of a project with completed prequalification procedures or applying competitive negotiation) or publish them on VNEPS (in case of a project executed without following prequalification procedure).

b) For business investment projects: If modifications are made to the bidding documents after they are issued, the procuring entity shall publish the modification decision, specific modifications and modified bidding documents on VNEPS.

c) Such modifications must be published within the time limit prescribed in clause 10 Article 31 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP , for PPP projects, or clause 3 Article 16 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP and clause 3 Article 17 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP , for business investment projects. In case of failure to publish modifications within such prescribed time limit, the procuring entity shall extend as necessary the bid submission deadline.

3. Clarification of bidding documents:

a) For a PPP project applying competitive bidding with prequalification procedure or competitive negotiation as prescribed in Article 38 of the PPP Law, the investor requiring any clarification of the bidding documents shall send its request for clarification to the procuring entity at least 07 working days (in case of domestic investor selection) or 15 working days (in case of international investor selection) before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point a clause 4 Article 51 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP. The procuring entity shall respond to the investor’s request for clarification of the bidding documents adopting any of the following approaches:

- Sending the record of clarifications to bidding documents to the shortlisted investors;

- Where necessary, the procuring entity may convene a pre-bid meeting to clarify the contents of bidding documents as requested by investors. The procuring entity shall record all contents discussed at the meeting in the meeting minutes and include them in the record of clarifications to bidding documents which shall be then sent to the shortlisted investors.

b) For a PPP project applying competitive bidding without following prequalification procedure, the investor requiring any clarification of the bidding documents shall send its request for clarification directly to the procuring entity or via VNEPS at least 07 working days (in case of domestic investor selection) or 15 working days (in case of international investor selection) before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point b clause 4 Article 51 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP. The procuring entity shall respond to the investor’s request for clarification of the bidding documents adopting any of the following approaches:

- Publishing its response to the investor’s request for clarification of bidding documents on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the bid submission deadline; or

- Where necessary, the procuring entity may convene a pre-bid meeting to clarify the contents of bidding documents as requested by investors. The procuring entity shall record all contents discussed at the meeting in the meeting minutes and include them in the record of clarifications to the bidding documents which shall be then published on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the bid submission deadline.

c) For a business investment project applying domestic bidding, the investor requiring any clarification of the bidding documents shall send its request for clarification to the procuring entity via VNEPS at least 07 working days before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point a clause 4 Article 16 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in point b clause 11 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) and point a clause 4 Article 17 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP ;

d) For a business investment project applying international bidding, the investor requiring any clarification of the bidding documents shall send its request for clarification directly to the procuring entity at least 15 working days before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point a clause 4 Article 16 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in point b clause 11 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) and point a clause 4 Article 17 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP ;

dd) The procuring entity shall respond to the investor’s request for clarification of bidding documents within the time limit prescribed in point a of this clause and publish the record of clarifications to bidding documents on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point d clause 4 Article 16 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in point b clause 11 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) and point d clause 4 Article 17 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP ;

e) Clarifications to the bidding documents must not be contrary to the contents of the bidding documents approved and published on VNEPS. Should the clarifications to the bidding documents result in changes to the bidding documents, the modification of the bidding documents shall be subject to provisions of clause 2 of this Article;

g) For a business investment project, where necessary, the procuring entity may convene a pre-bid meeting to clarify the contents of bidding documents as requested by investors. The procuring entity shall make a record of clarifications to bidding documents which includes all contents discussed with investors at the meeting and publish it on VNEPS at least 02 working days before the bid submission deadline as prescribed in point d clause 4 Article 16 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (as amended in point b clause 11 Article 66 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP) and point d clause 4 Article 17 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP .

4. Extension of bid submission deadline:

In case of extension of the bid submission deadline made on VNEPS, the procuring entity shall publish the extension notice which must be enclosed with the extension decision on VNEPS. Such notice must clearly indicate:

a) Reasons for extension;

b) The new bid submission deadline.

Article 17. Cancellation, extension and modification of published information

Cancellation, extension and modification of published information shall be carried according to the Instructions for use.

Article 18. Publishing of investor selection result

a) For a PPP project, the procuring entity shall publish the investor selection result and the decision on approval thereof on VNEPS within 10 days from the issue date of the approval decision as prescribed in point b clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP .

b) For a business investment project, the procuring entity shall publish the investor selection result and the decision on approval thereof on VNEPS within 05 days from the day on which the investor selection result is approved by a competent person as prescribed in clause 1 Article 28 of the Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP and clause 1 Article 29 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP .

Article 19. Responsibilities of parties

1. The competent authority/authority making decision to conduct bidding shall:

a) discharge the responsibilities prescribed in Article 77 of the Law on Bidding;

b) publish the information specified in Points a, b and e Clause 2 Article 7 of the Law on Bidding;

c) assume legal responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the information provided or published on VNEPS using their participant account;

d) check and verify its publishing of information on VNEPS;

dd) manage and assume responsibility for delegation of rights to use task-specific accounts corresponding to their role; manage the use of digital certificates on VNEPS.

2. a) The investor shall assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided in webforms and files attached to their submitted bid. The investor shall input information according to the requirements of E-KSQT, E-HSMST and attach files to create a complete set of E-HSQT, E-HSDST for a PPP project;

b) The investor shall examine all contents of E-KSQT, E-HSMST for PPP projects in which it is interesting to prepare its E-HSQT, E-HSDST in conformity with the requirements laid down in such E-KSQT, E-HSMST. If E-KSQT, E-HSMST is found to have confusing information which makes the investor difficult to prepare its E-HSQT, E-HSDST, the investor shall send a request for clarification of E-KSQT, E-HSMST to the procuring entity for considering and making appropriate modifications;

c) The investor shall access VNEPS to receive updated information on the projects in which it is interesting or for which bids are submitted. Where any errors which occur as a result of the investor's failure to monitor and receive the information updated on VNEPS cause it suffering disadvantage conditions during its participation in bidding, including: modification of E-KSQT, E-HSMST, change in the E-HSQT/E-HSDST submission deadline, time limit for clarification of E-HSQT/E-HSDST, and other contents, the investor shall itself assume responsibility for such errors and suffer such disadvantage conditions during its participation in EOI process or bidding.

d) In case the investor’s legal representative authorizes the director of a branch, financially dependent subsidiary or factory of the investor or the head of its another financially dependent unit to perform tasks during the EOI process or bidding on VNEPS, submission of EOI or bid on VNEPS must be made using the investor’s participant account instead of the participant account of that branch, subsidiary, factory or unit. If EOI or bid is submitted using the participant account of its branch or (financially dependent) affiliated unit, the investor shall be considered to have failed eligibility requirements as prescribed in clause 1 Article 5 of the Law on Bidding;

dd) The investor shall discharge other responsibilities, including:

- Register for participation in VNEPS to ensure its eligibility as prescribed in point d clause 1 Article 5 of the Law on Bidding;

- Discharge the responsibilities prescribed in Article 82 of the Law on Bidding;

- Manage its participant account and digital certificate used on VNEPS.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 20. Amendments to Circular No. 02/2024/TT-BKHDT dated March 06, 2024 of Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam prescribing training and refresher training, examination, issuance and revocation of professional certificates in bidding

1. The text “Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP dated September 16, 2024 elaborating and providing guidelines for implementation of the Law on Bidding regarding selection of investors executing investment projects involving land use” is added to the legal grounds of this Circular.

2. Point d is added to Clause 1 Article 7 as follows:

“d) Individuals who are members of expert teams or appraisal teams in charge of selecting investors for investment projects involving land use as prescribed in clause 4 Article 1 of the Government’s Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP dated September 16, 2024 elaborating and providing guidelines for implementation of the Law on Bidding regarding selection of investors executing investment projects involving land use”.

3. Section IV Part B of Appendix 1 enclosed to the Circular is amended as follows:

a) Heading of Seminar 4 is changed from “Procedures for selection of investor executing a business investment project” into “Procedures for selection of investor executing a project which requires bidding as prescribed in specialized sector or industry law."

b) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

“1. Overview of the project which requires bidding as prescribed by specialized sector or industry law”.

4. Section V Part B of Appendix 1 enclosed to the Circular is amended as follows:

Heading of Seminar 5 is changed from “Procedures for selection of investor executing an investment project with use of" into “Procedures for selection of investor executing an investment project involving land use”.

Article 21. Transition

From the effective date of this Circular as prescribed in clause 2 Article 23 of this Circular, PPP projects are subject to these transition clauses:

1. If E-HSMST, prequalification documents, negotiation documents or bidding documents for the PPP project is not yet issued, they shall be prepared in accordance with provisions of this Circular.

2. In case the bidding documents for the PPP project have been issued but the investor selection result is not yet approved by the effective date of this Circular, bids shall continue to be evaluated according to the issued bidding documents. Subsequent procedures for the PPP project shall comply with the PPP Law and Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP.

Article 22. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from the day on which it is signed, except regulations in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Provisions of Article 5 of this Circular come into force from November 15, 2024.

3. From the effective date of this Circular as prescribed in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the following Circulars shall cease to have effect:

a) Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BKHDT dated November 16, 2021 of the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam providing guidelines for selection of investors executing public-private partnership projects and investment projects involving land use;

b) Circular No. 10/2022/TT-BKHDT dated June 15, 2022 of the Minister of Planning and Investment prescribing provision and publishing of information and investor selection on Vietnam National E-Procurement System;

c) clause 6 Article 5 of the Circular No. 21/2022/TT-BKHDT dated September 30, 2022 of the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam prescribing preparation of bidding documents for procurement of non-consulting services under the framework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement;

d) Circular No. 03/2024/TT-BKHDT dated March 06, 2024 of the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam prescribing forms of bidding documents for selection of investors for projects requiring bidding as prescribed by specialized sector or industry laws;

dd) Circular No. 10/2024/TT-BKHDT dated June 12, 2024 of the Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam providing amendments to Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BKHDT dated November 16, 2021 of the Minister of Planning and Investment on guidelines for selection of investors for executing public-private partnership projects and investment projects involving land use, Circular No. 10/2022/TT-BKHDT dated June 15, 2022 of the Minister of Planning and Investment prescribing provision and publishing of information and selection of investors on Vietnam National E-Procurement System.

4. Before forms of bidding documents issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam as prescribed in point c clause 2 Article 74 of the Decree No. 115/2024/ND-CP are available, bidding documents shall be made using the forms in Appendixes VIII, IX, X, XI and XII enclosed herewith which may be modified but must be conformable with provisions of the Law on Bidding, the Law on Electricity, and relevant laws, and ensure achievement of all objectives in bidding, including competitiveness, fairness, transparency, economic efficiency and accountability.

5. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam for consideration./.

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