Direct Contracting for Construction Packages in Vietnam's Public Procurement Law: Legal Issues and Practice in Ho Chi Minh City

Direct contracting for construction packages is a lawful but sensitive method of contractor selection because it reduces the competitive pressure normally expected in public procurement while promising faster implementation in urgent or technically demanding circumstances. This article analyzes Vietnam's current legal framework on direct contracting for construction packages and examines its implementation practice in Ho Chi Minh City. The study is based on doctrinal legal analysis, documentary analysis, case-based observation of public infrastructure procurement, and comparative references to selected international standards on non-competitive procurement. The findings show that direct contracting remains necessary for urgent works, emergency public investment projects, technically specific packages, and major infrastructure projects requiring accelerated implementation. However, the principal problem is not the formal absence of legal rules, but the broad and partly indeterminate grounds for application, especially those related to urgency, acceleration of progress, quality assurance, and efficiency. In Ho Chi Minh City, where public investment pressure is high and many projects face delays, direct contracting can shorten one procedural stage, but it cannot resolve non-procurement bottlenecks such as site clearance, material supply, design changes, or weak contract management. The article argues that the appropriate reform orientation is not to mechanically expand or restrict direct contracting, but to strengthen legal control over its use through stricter justification, substantive appraisal, contractor-capacity verification, price benchmarking, broader disclosure, post-award supervision, and clearer accountability of competent authorities.