DECREE

ON MANAGEMENT OF URBAN LIGHTING

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the November 26, 2003 Construction Law;
Pursuant to the December 3, 2004 Electricity Law;
At the proposal of the Minister of Construction,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Decree provides for lighting activities in urban centers and the application thereof to non-urban areas nationwide is encouraged.

2. Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals conducting activities related to urban lighting in the Vietnamese territory shall comply with the provisions of this Decree.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms and concepts below are construed as follows:

1. Urban lighting activities include planning on, development investment in, and organization of, urban lighting: management and operation of urban public lighting systems.

2. Urban lighting includes the lighting of traffic works; lighting of public spaces; lighting of work facades; advertisement and decoration lighting and lighting of festival areas: lighting in premises of works owned, managed and used by organizations or individuals.

3. Urban public lighting systems include the lighting of traffic works and lighting of public spaces in urban centers.

4. Management and operation of urban public lighting systems includes activities of investment in, upgrading, renovation, maintenance and development of, urban public lighting systems.

5. Urban administrations include People's Committees of centrally run cities; provincial cities and towns; towns of centrally run cities and townships of districts.

Article 3. Urban lighting management principles and development policies

1. Urban lighting constitutes a specialized urban technical infrastructure uniformly managed with specific assignment and decentralization of responsibilities and powers under law.

2. Urban lighting must ensure economical, efficient and safe use of electricity, environmental protection and comply with technical standards.

3. Urban lighting must be planned; urban lighting development and investment must comply with approved urban planning or urban lighting planning.

4. The State shall formulate strategies for urban lighting development, aiming to invest in construction and unceasingly raise the operation efficiency of urban lighting works, ensuring the quality of urban lighting and incrementally modernizing and developing urban centers in a sustainable manner.

5. The State encourages domestic and foreign organizations and individuals of all economic sectors to invest in, produce arid use high-efficacy and electricity-saving lighting products.

6. Upon repair, replacement and installation of lighting sources and equipment at construction works and urban lighting facilities funded with state budget capital, lighting sources and equipment with certificates of energy-saving products issued by or bearing energy-saving stamps affixed by competent agencies under law must be used.

Article 4. General requirements on designing, construction and maintenance of urban lighting

1. Urban lighting designing:

a) To comply with technical standards on urban lighting for each type of work or each lighted area;

b) To ensure decoration and appearance requirements and to suit the functions of works or lighted areas;

c) To adopt solutions to the use of high-efficacy and electricity-saving lighting sources and equipment in designing each work or each lighted area.

2. The construction and installation of urban lighting works must strictly comply with approved designs; the construction thereof must ensure safety and convenience and comply with regulations on work construction management.

3. The maintenance must ensure that urban lighting systems operate stably; reach high lighting efficacy, save electricity and ensure safety for managers, operators and users.

Article 5. Standards and technical regulations on urban lighting

1. The Ministry of Construction shall formulate national standards and promulgate technical regulations on urban lighting.

2. Ministries and branches shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks assigned by the Government, study and propose national standards and promulgate technical regulations related to urban lighting.

3. Organizations and individuals involved in urban lighting activities shall apply national standards and comply with technical regulations on urban lighting, which are promulgated by competent state agencies.

Article 6. Protection of urban public lighting systems

1. Units managing or operating urban public lighting systems shall protect the property thereof (lighting sources, lighting equipment, wire lines, lamp posts, electrical boxes, control systems and other electrical equipment) in their assigned areas.

2. All organizations and individuals shall observe regulations on protection of urban public lighting systems, detect in time, stop and report to competent agencies acts in violation of regulations on protection and use of urban public lighting systems.

Article 7. Propagation and dissemination of and education in law on urban lighting

Ministries, branches, People's Committees at all levels, political organizations and socio-professional organizations shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, propagate, disseminate, educate and mobilize people in the safe and proper use of lighting electricity as well as high-efficacy and electricity-saving lighting products and in the strict observance of the law on urban lighting.

Article 8. Prohibited acts

1. Designing or constructing urban lighting works in contravention of urban planning or urban lighting planning and designs approved by competent authorities.

2. Organizing urban lighting in contravention of regulations.

3. Using electricity sources supplied for urban lighting systems for other purposes.

4. Stealing urban lighting equipment.

5. Abusing lighting to cause bad impacts on the environment, human health and urban safety and beauty.

6. Manufacturing or importing lighting sources and lighting equipment at variance with technical regulations.

7. Managing and operating urban public-lighting systems in contravention of regulations.

8. Other acts of violation prescribed by law.

Chapter II

URBAN LIGHTING PLANNING

Article 9. General provisions on urban lighting planning

1. Urban lighting planning constitutes a content of urban planning, which is formulated, appraised, approved and managed under the law on urban planning.

2. For centrally run cities, urban lighting planning must be formulated. For other urban centers with approved urban plannings, the additional formulation of urban lighting planning before the urban planning is adjusted shall be considered and decided by provincial-level People's Committees.

Article 10. Requirements on urban lighting planning

1. To comply with the requirements and objectives of urban planning and development.

2. To suit natural, economic and social conditions as well as the characteristics, functions and particularities of each urban center.

3. To be in synchronism with technical infrastructure facilities and suitable to lighted works and areas.

4. To comply with technical regulations and standards on urban lighting.

5. To ensure the lighting purposes of electricity saving and efficiency.

Article 11. Contents and dossiers of urban lighting planning

1. Basic contents of the urban lighting planning:

a) Investigation and assessment of current conditions of urban lighting systems:

b) Determination of economic and technical norms of urban lighting;

c) Forecast of urban lighting demands;

d) Proposed tentative urban lighting planning;

e) Proposed priority investment projects and measures to implement the urban lighting planning.

2. A planning dossier comprises drawings and general explanations.

3. The Ministry of Construction shall specify the contents and dossiers of urban lighting planning.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF URBAN LIGHTING

Article 12. Requirements on organization of urban lighting

1. To comply with urban planning or urban lighting planning approved by competent authorities.

2. To comply with regulations on urban lighting management.

3. To ensure the function of lighting urban activities at night, contributing to the improvement of urban appearance and good looking and ensuring electricity saving and efficiency.

Article 13. Lighting of urban traffic works

1. To ensure the functions of lighting, location and direction for people and vehicles to safely participate in traffic activities at night. Qualitative and quantitative lighting norms must conform to technical regulations on urban lighting prescribed for each type of traffic work.

2. The construction, upgrading or renovation of traffic works and urban lighting works must be properly coordinated.

3. The lighting of roads, streets, pavements, bridges, traffic junctions, car terminals and parks, and bus stops in urban centers must satisfy the requirements of urban planning or urban lighting planning, ensuring beautiful look and conformity with surrounding architectural space and landscapes.

4. The lighting of alleys and narrow passes must suit practical conditions, ensuring security, order and civilization in residential areas.

5. The lighting of road tunnels and pedestrians' underground passages must ensure technical regulations, meeting the instruction requirements and helping detect in time obstacles in tunnels, ensuring safety, fire and explosion prevention and fighting and having reserve lighting sources.

Article 14. Lighting of public spaces in urban centers

1. Parks, flower gardens, plazas, lakeside, riverside or coastal areas and public spaces of political, historical or cultural significance in urban centers shall be lighted under the approved urban planning or urban lighting planning.

2. Public space lighting solutions must contribute to increasing the beauty of urban space, harmonizing such sceneries as greeneries, lawns, flower beds and water surface with architectural works, monuments, fountains and other works.

3. Units assigned to manage or operate or organizations and individuals assigned to manage, use or exploit public places in urban centers shall organize the lighting under regulations of urban administrations.

Article 15. Lighting of facades of works in urban centers

1. Architectural or construction works, historical or cultural relics, sport facilities; television towers, reception or transmission antennas with designs, images and locations which are prominent features of urban centers or directly affect urban architecture and look must be fully or partially lighted at their facades.

2. Depending on the functions, sizes, architectural characteristics, height and aesthetical requirements, the lighting of work facades must create prominent features and typical images of works while ensuring harmony with the lighting of traffic works, public spaces and surrounding facilities.

3. Owners, managers or users of works defined in Clause 1 of this Article shall organize the lighting according to regulations of urban administrations.

Article 16. Lighting of premises of works owned, managed and used by organizations or individuals

1. Depending on works' positions, the lighting of their premises must satisfy the requirements on beauty, security, economy and efficiency, combining the lighting of premises with the lighting of facilities in the premises or with their vicinities.

2. Premises of offices of state management agencies, premises of works owned, managed and used by organizations or individuals at important locations in urban centers must be lighted according to regulations of urban administrations.

Article 17. Advertisement and decoration lighting and lighting of festival areas

1. Advertisement and decoration lighting:

a) To comply with technical regulations and the provisions of the Ordinance on Advertisement as well as other relevant regulations on urban lighting management;

b) To ensure urban safety and beauty, to prohibit abuse of advertisement and decoration lighting to badly affect traffic activities and other urban activities.

2. Lighting of festival areas:

a) To ensure the diversified conformity, peculiarity and beauty of lighted areas;

b) To ensure safety for humans and spaces in use as well as fire and explosion prevention and fighting;

c) To ensure convenience in the course of construction, installation and dismantlement.

3. The advertisement and decoration lighting and lighting of festival areas must ensure economical and efficient use of lighting sources and equipment.

4. To socialize the advertisement and decoration lighting and lighting of festival areas.

5. The urban administration shall, according to their decentralized management competence, permit the advertisement and decoration lighting and the lighting of festival areas suitable to the location and size of each work or specific area in an urban center.

Chapter IV

INVESTMENT IN URBAN LIGHTING DEVELOPMENT

Article 18. Sources of investment capital for urban lighting development

1. Urban lighting programs and projects will be funded with state budget capital, credit, foreign aid and other capital sources of organizations or individuals.

2. The State encourages all economic sectors to invest in complete or partial development of urban public lighting systems in accordance with urban planning or urban lighting planning approved by competent authorities.

Article 19. Plans for investment in urban public lighting development

1. Plans for investment in urban public lighting development must be in line with urban planning or urban lighting planning approved by competent authorities.

2. Annual plans for investment in urban public lighting development must specify solutions and schemes on investment in construction, renovation, replacement, maintenance or upgrading of lighting systems and human resource development.

3. Plans for investment in urban public lighting development and funds for the implementation thereof must be included in annual socio-economic development programs or plans of urban centers.

Article 20. Incentives and supports for urban lighting development

1. To prioritize the use of concessional financial sources or those with preferential interest rates for renewal of technological lines producing high-efficacy and electricity-saving lighting products.

2. To provide tax incentives for imported raw materials and materials not yet manufactured at home for the production of high-efficacy and energy-saving lighting products.

3. To provide investment supports from state budget capital and to adopt mechanisms for mobilization of contributions from population communities for the construction, renovation and upgrading of lighting systems in urban alleys and narrow passages.

4. To provide supports for research into, and application of. advanced urban lighting technologies and techniques; for training to raise the capacity of managing and operating urban public lighting systems.

5. Other incentives and supports prescribed by law.

Article 21. Owners of urban public lighting systems

1. Urban administrations shall, under the decentralization of management, act as owners of urban public lighting systems including:

a) Urban public lighting systems funded with state budget capital.

b) Urban public lighting facilities or systems received from investors upon the expiration of the prescribed use or operation duration.

2. New urban center developers shall own, manage and operate urban public lighting systems in areas under their management till the hand-over thereof under regulations.

3. Owners of urban public lighting systems shall themselves provide investment capital till the hand-over thereof under regulations.

4. Owners of urban public lighting systems shall comply with urban lighting management regulations promulgated by urban administrations.

Chapter V

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF URBAN PUBLIC LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Article 22. Units managing and operating urban public lighting systems

1. Units managing or operating urban public lighting systems must be fully capable in terms of personnel: equipment and technical means necessary for the management and operation requirements and tasks.

2. The selection of urban public lighting system-managing or -operating units will be carried out in the form of bidding, placement of orders or assignment of plans. Based on their specific local conditions, urban administrations shall, according to their decentralized management competence, decide to select appropriate units managing and operating urban public lighting systems.

3. The management and operation of urban public lighting systems in the form of bidding, placement or orders or assignment of plans shall be carried out through management and operation contracts.

4. Management and operation contracts arc documents concluded between urban administrations according to their decentralized management competence and units selected for management and operation of urban public lighting systems. The Ministry of Construction shall promulgate model contracts for management and operation of urban public lighting systems.

Article 23. Contents of management and operation of urban public lighting systems

1. Urban public lighting shall be earned out in accordance with the technical process on lighting, ensuring safety and electricity saving, fire and explosion prevention and fighting and time of operation of urban public lighting systems according to regulations.

2. To elaborate annual plans on construction, replacement, renovation, maintenance of urban public lighting systems and organize the implementation of approved plans.

3. To periodically inspect and assess the quality of lighting sources and equipment of urban public lighting systems in order to promptly propose repair and replacement schemes.

4. To protect urban public lighting systems.

Article 24. Rights and responsibilities of units managing and operating urban public lighting systems

1. Rights of managing and operating units: a) To be correctly and fully paid for all expenses as provided for in contracts;

b) To propose competent state agencies to revise and supplement technical regulations and standards related to urban public lighting;

c) To give comments on the formulation of urban lighting planning in areas under their assigned management; to participate in scientific research; to provide services on urban lighting consultancy, designing and construction: to study the application of new technologies to public lighting and urban public lighting management and operation.

2. Responsibilities of managing and operating units:

a) To strictly perform tasks and observe regulations on management and operation as committed in contracts;

b) To periodically report to urban administrations and professional agencies on the management and operation of urban public lighting systems assigned to them;

c) To organize the implementation of approved plans for investment in urban public lighting development:

d) To manage assets invested from state budget under contracts concluded with urban administrations;

e) To protect urban public lighting systems in areas under their assigned management.

Chapter VI

URBAN LIGHTING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Article 25. Responsibilities of provincial-level People's Committees

1. To perform the unified management of urban lighting in their provinces. To divide responsibilities to professional agencies and decentralize to urban administrations the management of urban lighting in their localities.

2. To promulgate or assign urban administrations to promulgate documents specifying the management of urban lighting.

3. Based on the State's regulations and guidance as well as local socio-economic development conditions, to study the promulgation of preferential and support mechanisms and policies for appropriate development of urban lighting in areas under their management.

4. To disseminate and implement the Government's documents on urban lighting management.

Article 26. Responsibilities of urban administrations

1. To organize the management of urban lighting in areas as decentralized by provincial-level People's Committees.

2. To promulgate specific regulations on urban lighting management according to their decentralized management competence, which clearly define the responsibilities of organizations and individuals involved in the organization of urban lighting; regulations on management and operation of urban public lighting systems in areas assigned to them for management and organize the examination of the implementation of these regulations.

3. To establish databases on urban lighting to serve the management of lighting in their localities.

Chapter VII

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 27. Effect

This Decree takes effect on November 19. 2009.

Article 28. Organization of implementation

1. The Minister of Construction shall coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in guiding, monitoring and examining the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees shall implement this Decree.