One administrative procedure for each construction project
Ministry of Construction of Vietnam has proposed applying the principle that each construction work or project only needs to complete one administrative procedure, aiming to significantly reduce time and costs for citizens and businesses.
Ministry of Construction of Vietnam has proposed a series of measures to reduce and simplify administrative procedures in the construction sector based on the principle that “from the project preparation stage to construction commencement, each work or project only needs to complete one administrative procedure.”
According to Official Dispatch No. 6854 sent to the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam regarding continued review and simplification of administrative procedures, the Ministry of Construction stated that the reform follows directives from the Prime Minister under Official Dispatch No. 3905 dated May 2, 2026 issued by the Government Office.
The ministry noted that although many dossier requirements have already been streamlined, overlaps still exist among documents required for appraisal of basic designs, post-basic design construction designs and construction permit applications.
Currently, processing times range from 15 to 20 days depending on the type of construction, while citizens are still required to submit two sets of paper documents.
Additional categories eligible for exemption from construction permits have also been clarified, including specialized construction works, national defense and security projects, airport and aviation safety works, projects already appraised by construction authorities and projects in the electricity sector regulated under specialized laws.
The Ministry of Construction reaffirmed its commitment to strictly applying the principle that each project only undergoes one administrative procedure before construction begins. Under this approach, projects whose feasibility study reports have already been appraised by specialized construction agencies will no longer need construction permits.
Meanwhile, projects not subject to feasibility study appraisal will still have to carry out construction permit procedures.
As a result, the projects still requiring construction permits in practice will mainly include private housing in certain urban areas, areas subject to planning and architectural management requirements, and a limited number of Grade III and Grade IV works not subject to feasibility study appraisal.
According to the ministry, many proposed revisions have already been included in the Draft Decree detailing several provisions of the Construction Law regarding management of construction activities, which was submitted to the Government on May 6, 2026.
Under the proposal, all eligible applicants will be able to complete procedures fully online. Citizens will only need to submit one electronic dossier instead of two paper dossiers as currently required.
Authorities will also no longer request documents already available through national databases, such as land-use rights documents.
Beyond construction permits, the ministry proposed cutting a number of additional procedures, including reducing cases requiring feasibility study appraisal by construction authorities, simplifying appraisal contents and documentation requirements, and shortening project appraisal timelines.
The ministry also proposed abolishing procedures for appraisal of post-basic design construction designs, as well as eliminating construction competency certification procedures for organizations, replacing them with a self-declaration mechanism for enterprises.
One of the most notable proposals is a 50% reduction in processing time for construction permits compared to current regulations.
Accordingly, processing time for private housing permits would be reduced to seven working days, while all other projects would take no more than 10 working days.
The Ministry of Construction also proposed clearly defining the authority for issuing construction permits among commune-level People’s Committees, management boards of industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, economic zones and Departments of Construction in order to avoid overlaps and shorten administrative processing time.
Hai Phong News