According to Ms. Thao's reference to Point m, Clause 1, Article 23 of the Bidding Law No. 22/2023/QH15, the provision applies to "investment projects under the Law on Public Investment" without clearly specifying the source of funding. In reality, many construction planning packages use public funds rather than public investment funds, even though these packages fall under public investment projects.

Ms. Thao asks whether, in cases where consulting contractors are selected for construction planning using public funds, with package values ranging from 100 million VND to under 500 million VND, it is permissible to apply the direct contracting method according to the provisions of Point m, Clause 1, Article 23 of the Bidding Law No. 22/2023/QH15?

Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has provided the following response:

Clause 6, Article 4 of the Bidding Law defines an investment project as including:

• Programs and projects for new construction investment;

• Asset procurement projects;

• Projects for renovation, upgrading, and expansion;

• Projects, tasks, and planning proposals;

• Technical support;

• Other programs and projects as prescribed by law.

According to Point m, Clause 1, Article 23 of the Bidding Law, the direct contracting method is applied to procurement packages with a value ranging from over 50 million VND to 100 million VND; packages under investment projects of state-owned enterprises, enterprises wholly owned by state-owned enterprises, and investment projects under the Law on Public Investment, including consulting service packages with a value not exceeding 500 million VND, and non-consulting, goods, construction, and mixed packages with a value not exceeding 1 billion VND.

Based on these regulations, in cases where the consulting package for planning uses public funds and is not considered an investment project under the Law on Public Investment, the direct contracting limit applies to procurement packages (from over 50 million VND to 100 million VND).