Architect Tran Ngoc Chinh, former Deputy Minister of Construction , Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association
Telegram No. 78/CD-TTg dated May 29, 2025 of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on focusing on cutting and simplifying administrative procedures in the construction sector has concretized many instructions given by the head of the Government at the thematic meeting on law making in May 2025.
Notably, the policy of cutting down on construction permit procedures for construction projects with detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 or projects in areas with approved urban designs was once again mentioned.
This demonstrates the Government 's great determination in reducing procedures that are closely related to people's lives but are bottlenecks that can cause trouble and give rise to negative asking-giving phenomena.
Public opinion sees in this policy a consistent policy of wanting to cut down on administrative procedures, switch from pre-inspection to post-inspection, allowing people to proactively carry out activities that are strictly regulated, in accordance with the law, and have detailed instructions so that they cannot make mistakes.
Timely and accurate guidance
Architect Tran Ngoc Chinh, former Deputy Minister of Construction and Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's directive to reduce construction permit procedures for construction investment projects with detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 or projects in areas with approved urban designs was very timely and accurate.
Firstly, the country is restructuring the apparatus, administrative units and local government organization at two levels, requiring the construction and improvement of institutions and laws compatible with the new organizational model of ministries, branches and localities. Therefore, for tasks related to people and businesses, any work that can be guided and supervised for them to perform well should be streamlined. Not only the construction sector, but all other sectors also need to be thought of in this direction.
Second, the Law on Urban and Rural Planning 2024 (officially effective from July 1, 2025) has clearly stipulated the planning and appraisal of detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 with specific criteria such as construction density, height, and setbacks for construction works in each area. After the Law officially takes effect, there will be sub-law documents providing specific instructions, creating a complete and specific legal framework for people and businesses to follow. Thus, for construction works in this group, applying for construction procedures will no longer be necessary.
"In my opinion, in addition to the regulations on height, for street-front houses, uniformity in the height of the first floor is required, to facilitate urban design and decoration as well as create space for business activities. In addition, the guiding documents need to pay more attention to regulations on underground floors for construction works, especially in urban areas, to avoid cases where underground floors are not allowed but people still build, or where an underground floor is allowed but they build beyond, affecting the safety of the construction work itself and surrounding infrastructure," Architect Tran Ngoc Chinh added.
Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association
Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, expressed his impression of the professional and effective management spirit, in accordance with the practices of advanced countries in the world through the direction of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. In many advanced countries, to build a house, you only need to hire a licensed architect, have them design and stamp the drawings. That will ensure that the house is built in accordance with architectural, safety and technical standards and the architect will be legally responsible for the designed project.
"This management method is very modern, civilized and transparent, in which civil servants working in the government apparatus must take care of the people, through setting architectural and technical standards, managing intermediary units to support the people and supervising the implementation. People only need to follow the regulations and do not encounter any difficulties or problems," commented Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh.
Instructions for people to do the right thing
The synchronization in the direction and legal documents regulating and guiding... will create a clear legal corridor. The remaining factor is the level of readiness of people and businesses in complying with the law and legal frameworks, reducing the burden of post-audit and minimizing risks in construction safety, directly related to their own lives and property.
According to architect Tran Ngoc Chinh, we must encourage the private sector to participate in tasks that were previously undertaken by state officials. In each urban area and locality, there are architectural companies licensed to operate in the field of design and construction of construction works. These businesses have a team of personnel to meet the requirements of beautiful designs, in accordance with planning standards with solid foundations and structures, ensuring electricity and water connections, meeting fire prevention and fighting requirements and other safety factors. For construction works that do not require a license, we should encourage people to learn about and use the services of such businesses, to both ensure compliance with planning and ensure safety.
"We must understand that, even without a license, construction project owners must still submit construction documents including design drawings to the authorities for supervision and post-inspection. The seal and signature of the enterprise on the design drawings will ensure the professionalism of the construction project, reducing the supervision and post-inspection time of civil servants and public employees. On the other hand, in the event of a project that does not meet planning standards or other unexpected incidents, the project owner will have grounds to take legal measures with the design consultant to claim compensation. These enterprises themselves must also be responsible before the law," the Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association pointed out.
Architect Tran Ngoc Chinh noted that not all areas currently have detailed planning at 1/500 scale, so licensing procedures must still be carried out. In the future, localities need to actively develop and complete detailed planning, covering areas with construction conditions to create a legal basis for people and businesses to carry out construction projects without having to go through licensing procedures.
"For areas that do not have detailed planning or have just had zoning plans, the authorities need to provide guidance and suggestions on future planning directions so that people can fully understand the information. From that information, either the investor can temporarily stop construction and wait for detailed planning so that they do not need to apply for a permit, or they can proactively design and adjust the construction project to comply with future planning," the expert added.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, added that to reduce licensing procedures for construction projects as well as other administrative procedures in this field, it is necessary to have synchronization in the management, operation and supervision capacity of functional agencies.
Firstly, the officials and civil servants assigned to the task must have sufficient qualifications and expertise to supervise, post-check, detect and correct shortcomings right from the beginning, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses to promptly correct them.
Second, even though we have a complete and detailed legal framework, we must create a truly high-quality, accessible and easy-to-understand written management and operation process so that project investors can easily absorb and follow it.
"Any change in management will require a certain amount of time to adapt. However, I think that management and operation are moving towards establishing and operating the best, easiest to implement and monitor standards. In addition, the support and companionship from the authorities will create trust, confidence and peace of mind for people and businesses," Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh affirmed.
Hoang Hanh
Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/don-gian-hoa-thu-tuc-xay-dung-buoc-dot-pha-moi-trong-cai-cach-tthc-102250603094043475.htm
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