On 10 December 2025, Vietnam passed a new Law on Construction, Law No 135/2025/QH15 (“LOC 2025”), a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s construction legal framework which replaced the current construction law (“LOC 2014”)2 and took effect on 1 July 2026.

Practitioners regularly engaged in Vietnamese construction law projects have long encountered recurring legal and practical issues under the LOC 2014, arising from lack of transparency, inconsistent interpretation of regulations, and conflicts between overlapping domestic legal frameworks and international standard forms of contract such as FIDIC.

This is exactly what the LOC 2025 is trying to address. The LOC 2025 delivers welcome clarifications in areas that have long created uncertainty for investors, contractors and project owners, including in relation to the applicable legal regime to construction contracts. It also represents a significant step toward greater contractual freedom and reduced administrative control, in line with the government’s push to simplify procedures and accelerate project delivery.

Although not referring expressly to international arbitration, the LOC 2025 also includes international dispute resolution provisions which will aim at attracting foreign investment by promoting a stable economic and legal environment, underpinned by a dispute resolution system aligned with international standards.

The article analyses the LOC 2025 and its implementing decrees, in particular Decree 210/2026,3 through four principal themes: (1) clearer