VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Adam Moncrieff and Thuy Huynh, Orrick
the delivery point. These are manageable questions, but the answers are still developing in practice. As a result, private wire structures require careful legal and engineering design. 4.3 Terms and Conditions Imposed on Approvals to Construct and Operate a Transmission Line and Associated Facilities Transmission approvals usually contain detailed tech- nical and route-based conditions. The approved route, tower or substation locations, safety corridor, envi- ronmental mitigation plan, construction schedule and applicable technical standards are all likely to be fixed or at least tightly controlled. Once the line is intended to operate as part of the national grid, co-ordination with system operation requirements becomes an equally important part of the approval framework. These are not formalities; small deviations can trigger significant follow-on approvals. Route-related conditions are often the most com- mercially sensitive because they link directly to land compensation, clearance timing and engineering design. A route adjustment that looks modest on a map may affect forest land, residential land, river crossings or defence-sensitive zones. For that reason, route amendments are frequently more complex than sponsors first expect. The same is true for changes in voltage level or capacity, because those changes can affect the project’s role in the wider grid plan. Amending approval conditions usually requires returning to the authority responsible for the original approval or to the authority now holding the relevant delegated power. The legal question is not simply whether an amendment is allowed; it is whether the proposed change alters the assumptions on which the original planning, environmental or investment decision was granted. If it does, the amendment can become almost as demanding as a fresh approval. 4.4 Eminent Domain, Condemnation and Expropriation Rights to Construct and Operate Transmission Lines and Associated Facilities Even where a transmission project involves a licensed or non-state participant, the proponent does not obtain a private condemnation power. Land access remains
a matter of Vietnam’s state land regime, and this is especially important for transmission lines because the safety corridor can affect many land users along the route. Access to land is achieved through state-led land allocation, land use restrictions, corridor estab- lishment and mechanisms for compensating previous land users. For transmission line projects, this often means a combination of permanent land allocations for towers or substations and ongoing use restrictions across the broader safety corridor. The legal effect on landowners can therefore extend well beyond the small footprint of the physical structures. Compensation for other land users depends on the legal status of the affected land and the specific impact on use rights. Owners or users may be compensated for requisitioned land, damage to land or other assets, relocation, business interruption or restrictions on use within the corridor, depending on the circumstanc- es and the applicable compensation plan. The pro- cess is grounded in land law and local administrative implementation rather than in a bespoke electricity compensation code. That local dimension can make outcomes hard to predict. For transmission line project planning, the important point is that transmission corridor issues can be just as material as outright site acquisition. A line may require only limited permanent land allocation but still create prolonged negotiations because many parties are affected by the corridor. The legal right to estab- lish that corridor may exist, yet the timing of practical implementation can still be difficult. That is why trans- mission programmes are often sensitive from an ESG and local governance perspective. 4.5 Monopoly Rights to Provide Transmission Services Vietnam’s public transmission service is effectively monopolised through the state system. EVNNPT is the principal national transmission operator, and the legal and institutional design of the sector does not pres- ently support competing public transmission networks in the ordinary sense. That monopoly is not simply commercial; it reflects national policy that treats trans- mission as strategic infrastructure tied to security, reli- ability and co-ordinated planning. For that reason, the monopoly is structural rather than accidental.
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