Article 1.- The transport works are technical-economic facilities which are part of the infrastructure and are important to the development of the national economy and the assurance of national defense and security and the people's life.

Article 2.- The transport works covered by this Ordinance include land roads, railways and river routes which serve public transport, hereafter generally referred to as transport works.

The protection of the transport works belonging to civil aviation and maritime transport is regulated respectively by the Law on Civil Aviation of Vietnam and the Code on Maritime Transport of Vietnam.

Article 3.- The protection of transport works provided for by this Ordinance includes the activities to ensure safety and durability of the works; the measures to prevent, check and handle acts of violation against the works which may cause danger to the life of people and damage to properties of the State and people.

Article 4.- The State has policies to encourage and protect the lawful rights and interests of organizations and individuals at home and abroad that invest in and/or apply scientific and technological advances to building, transforming, maintaining, repairing and protecting transport works.

Article 5.- The State exercises unified management of the protection of transport works, irrespective of their capital sources.

The State ensures budget allocations and other conditions for the maintenance, repair and protection of transport works, which are built with capital allocated by or originating from the State budget.

The owner of a transport work built with capital from other sources must ensure the budget for its maintenance, repair and protection.

Article 6.- The planning, transformation, expansion and upgrading of transport routes of all kinds must be approved by the competent State authority and marker-posts must be planted at vantage points of such works.

The designing and building of transport works must comply with the schemes, plans and blueprints already approved by the competent State authority; and must meet the standards in technical quality and safety.

Article 7.- All State agencies, social and economic organizations, units of the People's Armed Forces and individuals are responsible for preserving and protecting transport works; and for observing the legal provisions on the protection of transport works and related legislation.

All foreign organizations and individuals operating or residing in the Vietnamese territory must comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law on the protection of transport works.

Article 8.- The People's Councils at all levels shall, within the scope of their tasks and jurisdiction, be responsible for supervising the implementation of the legal provisions for the protection of transport works in their localities.

The State shall create conditions for the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations to take part within the scope of their tasks and jurisdiction, in educating the people on, and encouraging and supervising their implementation of, the legal provisions on the protection of transport works.

Article 9.- The users and exploiters of transport works must pay tolls as stipulated by law.

The Government shall stipulate the categories of transport works to be tolled and their specific tolls.

Article 10.- All acts of violation against transport works shall be dealt with by law.

Chapter II

PROTECTION OF TRANSPORT WORKS

Article 11.- The transport works which are protected include:

1. On-land works: Roads, bridges, sewers, tunnels, urban pavements, ferries, bus stations, drainage systems, road signs and other support works and facilities;

2. River works: Navigation routes on rivers, lakes, canals and along bays; docks, water locks, dams, ports and harbors, storage sites, buoys and other support works and facilities;

3. Railway works: Railways, bridges, tunnels, sewers, railway stations, storage sites, signal systems and other support works and facilities.

Article 12.- Pursuant to the allocation of management responsibilities, the transport route system is classified as follows:

1. Land road: the national highways, urban roads, provincial roads, district roads, communal roads and the specialized on-land roads:

2. River route: the river ways under central and local jurisdiction and the specialized river ways;

3. Railway: the national railway system and the specialized railways.

Article 13.- The protection area for transport works includes: the works; the protection corridors; the air space, the ground and the water beneath the works which are related to the security of the works themselves and the safety of transport activities.

All construction and other activities outside the protection area for transport works must not do harm to the security of the works.

The Government shall provide details on the protection area for transport works.

Article 14.- The building of transport works and the use and exploitation of the air, land and/or water space within their protection area must be approved in accordance with law by the competent State authority.

The building of transport works and the use and exploitation of the air space, land and/or water area outside their protection area which may affect the security of the works or the safety of the transport activities, must be advised by the competent State authority responsible for the protection of transport works.

1. The management, exploitation, repair and protection of transport works must comply with the procedures, norms and technical standards stipulated by the competent State authority.

2. The managing units are responsible for the technical safety of their works; in case they discover damage which threatens the safety of the traffic, they must take timely measures to fix and repair them; they must also take preventive measures against natural calamities in order to minimize damage to the works and shall be held joint-responsible for traffic accidents due to the poor technical quality of the works.

Article 16.- When a transport work is discovered to have been infringed upon or become unsafe, the discoverer has to immediately report his/her finding to the local authority or the managing unit, traffic police or the nearest State agency, which shall take timely measures to deal with the problem.

Article 17.- With regard to transport works of special importance, the Ministry of Transport and Communication shall take the initiative to coordinate with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense to design plans for their protection in accordance with the provisions of the Government.

Within the scope of their tasks and jurisdiction, the People's Police Force has the responsibility to coordinate with and provide support for the managing units of transport works and the inspection units responsible for their protection.

Article 18.- All acts of encroachment upon the protection area of transport works to erect houses, cottages or any other works, are strictly banned.

All acts of violation of the construction plans already approved by the competent State authority or the plans for house removal compensation shall be dealt with by law.

1. Organizations and individuals that are permitted to build, transform, expand and repair transport works and carry out other activities within the protection area of the works must comply with the legal provisions on protection of transport works and related legislation.

2. When the State has the need to build, transform or expand transport works, the owners of the works, houses and cottages which lie within the protection corridors of the transport works, including those the construction of which have been permitted, must move out promptly as decided by the competent State agency.

Compensation shall be effected in accordance with the provisions of law and in compliance with State policies.

3. Any delay in moving or any hindrance to the removal of the architectures stipulated in Item 2 of this Article, which hampers the building, transformation and expansion of transport works, shall be dealt with by law.

Article 20.- The following acts are banned:

1. Destroying, dismantling and stealing parts, accessories, tools and construction materials, signal systems and facilities serving traffic at transport works;

2. Dumping toxic waste which may cause damage to or affect the durability and life of transport works;

3. Storing goods, materials and wastes; washing vehicles, holding market, and letting loose cattle on traffic roads; drying rice straw, farm produce and other things on highways; and other acts which cause hindrances to the use and exploitation of transport works;

4. Operating over-loaded vehicles or at speeds faster than the speed limit which may affect the quality of transport works.

Article 21.- The following works may be conducted only after a permit is obtained from the competent State authority on protection of transport works:

1. Drilling, digging or cutting traffic roads;

2. Using explosives to extract rocks, sand and gravel, which may affect the quality of transport works;

3. Laying water or oil and gas pipelines; or laying electric or communication cables and installing lighting equipment within the protection area of transport works;

4. Anchoring and mooring boats and rafts or parking transport means which may hamper the use and exploitation of transport works;

5. Displacing signal systems or blocking their visibility and that of other facilities serving traffic flow;

6. Opening traffic flows across railways, highways and roads with median strips; or operating motor or caterpillar-treaded vehicles or hauling weighty objects across railways at points where crossing is banned;

8. Placing fish traps or aquatic rearing or catching facilities which may hinder waterways;

9. Other works which may affect the quality of transport works.

In the event that one of the works stipulated in this Article is permitted, its realization must include measures to ensure safety to the traffic; after completion, timely measures must be taken to restore the state and quality of the transport works. The managing units of the transport works are responsible for controlling and supervising the restoration of the state and quality of the transport works.

Article 22.- When the need arises, the operation of the following transport means must be licensed by the competent State authority on protection of transport works:

1. Caterpillar-treaded vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles and over-size vehicles which are to operate on public transport works with bridges and sections which require limited weights or sizes;

2. Large-size vessels which are to operate on river routes navigable to vessels with size limits;

Licenses issued for operation stipulated in this Article are only for single or timed use, and on defined routes.

The managing units of the transport works shall coordinate with the traffic police and the military police to control the operation of the transport means stipulated in this Article.

Article 23.- The protection of the transport works which are also military works, or of the military works which are also transport works, shall comply with the provisions of this Ordinance and the Ordinance on Protection of Military Works and Military Zones.

The protection of the transport works which are also irrigation works or dikes, or of the irrigation works or dikes which are also transport works, shall comply with the provisions of this Ordinance, the Ordinance on Exploitation and Protection of Irrigation Works, and the Ordinance on Protection of Dikes.

The protection of the transport works which are related to other infrastructure works shall comply with the provisions of this Ordinance and related legal provisions.

1. In the event of an incident which causes hindrance to traffic flow, the owner of the object which blocks the traffic of ships and boats must notify immediately the nearest managing unit of transport works, take measures to ensure traffic safety and remove that obstacle within the time limit set by the managing unit of transport works;

2. In the event of an incident which causes hindrance to traffic flow, the owner of the object which blocks the traffic on land or rail roads must notify immediately the nearest managing unit of transport works and traffic police and remove that obstacle, not letting it hamper the traffic flow of trains and vehicles;

3. In the event the obstacle is not removed within the set time limit, the managing unit of transport works or the traffic police is responsible for removing it and the owner of the object has to bear all the cost of the removal.

Chapter III

STATE MANAGEMENT OF THE PROTECTION OF TRANSPORT WORKS

Article 25.- The Government exercises unified State management in the protection of the transport works throughout the country.

The Ministry of Transport and Communication performs the function of State management in the protection of the transport works; is responsible for organizing the management, protection, exploitation and use of the transport works, and for controlling and supervising the protection of the national highway system, the centrally-managed river routes and the national railway system; and ensures that the national transport system operate safely and smoothly.

The Ministry of the Interior and the concerned ministries and branches shall, within their tasks and powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Transport and Communication in the exercise of the function of State management in the protection of transport works.

The People's Committees at all levels shall, within their tasks and powers, exercise the function of State management in the protection of transport works under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport and Communication; are responsible for organizing the protection of the transport works located in their localities; and direct the maintenance, repair and protection of the transport works the management of which has been assigned to them.

The local agencies of State management of the protection of transport works are responsible for assisting the People's Committees of the same level to perform the State management function in the protection of transport works.

The State management over the protection of railway transport works shall be determined by the Government upon the proposal of the Minister of Transport and Communication.

Article 26.- The content of State management of transport works includes:

1. To formulate schemes and plans for building, transformation, upgrading and repairing transport works;

2. To draft and issue legal documents on protection of transport works and organize the implementation of the legal documents on protection of transport works;

3. To organize the apparatus for the management and protection of transport works;

4. To set and publicize standards on maximum loads and technical norms for transport means in compliance with the safety conditions of the public transport system.

To set the maximum loads and sizes for transport means to be imported into Vietnam;

5. To issue and withdraw licenses for the exploitation and use of transport works which may affect the works' quality and safety;

6. To formulate regulations on constructions to be built on either side of transport routes and within their protection corridors, in compliance with plans for their transformation and expansion;

7. To carry out promotion, dissemination and education on laws on protection of transport works;

8. To train and foster personnel for management and protection of transport works; to carry out research and application of scientific and technological advances in the field of protection of transport works;

9. To control and inspect the implementation of the legal provisions on protection of transport works;

10. To settle disputes, complaints and denunciations related to the protection of transport works; to handle cases of violation of laws on protection of transport works within one's jurisdiction.

11. To engage in international cooperation in the field of protection of transport works.

Article 27.- The organization of the units to manage transport works is as follows:

1. The Ministry of Transport and Communication shall determine the organization of the units to manage the national highways, centrally managed river routes and national railways;

2. The People's Committees at provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall determine the organization of the units to manage urban roads, provincial roads, district roads, communal roads and local river routes, under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport and Communication.

Chapter IV

INSPECTION ON PROTECTION OF TRANSPORT WORKS

Article 28.- The State management body for the protection of transport works performs the function of inspection in the protection of transport works.

The Government is to determine the organization, tasks, powers and operation of inspection in the protection of transport works.

The Ministry of Transport and Communication is to organize the inspection personnel for the protection of transport works on land, rail and river.

Article 29.- In performing inspection, the Inspection team or Inspector of the protection of transport works has the powers:

1. To control and inspect the implementation of the legal provisions on protection of transport works;

2. To file records on acts of violation of laws on protection of transport works; to suspend temporarily or permanently acts of serious violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works;

3. To handle within one's jurisdiction acts of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works or to recommend to the competent State authority to handle them.

4. Within one's jurisdiction to settle disputes, complaints and denunciations against acts of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works;

5. To be in charge of coordination with the People's Police and other law-enforcement forces in performing the function of inspection of protection of transport works.

In case of necessity, to prevent the possible consequences on transport works of acts of violation of laws on their protection, the Inspector has the authority to halt transport means to apply within one's jurisdiction preventive measures and takes responsibility before law for his/her decision.

Article 30.- All organizations and individuals are responsible for creating conditions for the Inspection team or Inspector on protection of transport works to perform its/his/her tasks; and for obeying its/his/her decision.

The Inspection team or Inspector on protection of transport works is to be responsible before law for its/his/her decision.

Article 31.- Organizations and individuals have the right to lodge complaints to the body in charge of inspection of transport works or an immediately higher agency of State management over protection of transport works, about the decision and measures taken by the Inspection team or Inspector.

Organizations and individuals have the right to lodge complaints or denunciations against an agency of State management over protection of transport works, for its acts of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works.

The agency, which receives the complaints or denunciations, is responsible for considering and settling them in accordance with legal provisions on citizen complaints and denunciations and other related legal provisions.

Article 32.- The inspection personnel for protection of transport works are provided with uniform, badge and necessary instruments to perform their duties as required by the Government.

Chapter V

REWARD AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 33.- Organizations and individuals with meritorious deeds in the protection of transport works shall be rewarded in accordance with the State provisions.

A person, who combats acts of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works and, as a result, suffers from losses in property, health or life, shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of law.

Article 34.- Any person, who encroaches upon the land within the protection area of transport works or commits any other act of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works, shall, depending on the nature, seriousness of the violation and its consequence, be subjected to administrative sanction or investigated for penal liability.

Article 35.- Any person, who abuses his/her position and powers to shield those who have committed acts of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works; violates provisions on licensing the use of land within the protection areas of transport works, on compensations for site clearing, and on the management and protection of transport works; or commits other acts of violation of law, shall, depending on the nature, seriousness of the violation and its consequence, be subjected to administrative sanctions or investigated for penal liability.

Article 36.- Any person, who commits acts of violation of legal provisions on protection of transport works and causes losses to organizations or individuals, shall, apart from being dealt with according to provisions stipulated in Article 34 and 35 of this Ordinance, have to make compensations for the losses as provided for by the provisions of law.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 37.- The Government shall issue detailed provisions for handling the dwelling houses and other works already built within the protection areas of transport works prior to the issuance of this Ordinance.

Article 38.- This Ordinance takes effect from the date of its issuance.

All previous provisions which are contrary to this Ordinance shall be annulled.

Article 39.- The Government shall issue detailed provisions for the implementation of this Ordinance.

On behalf of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly

Chairman

NONG DUC MANH