Scenario: preparing an IRC dossier for a factory project, an investor hears that “a document from the industrial park management board” is needed — and starts preparing an investment-policy-approval application instead. Two completely different legal institutions, confused at the cost of weeks of misdirected work.
Two documents that must never be confused
Investment policy approval is an administrative decision of the competent state authority — the National Assembly, the Prime Minister or the provincial People’s Committee under the Law on Investment No. 143/2025/QH15 (effective 1 March 2026) — permitting a project that falls within the statutory approval scope. Only certain projects (large scale, special sectors or sensitive locations) require it. The location confirmation letter, by contrast, is a dossier document in the IRC application — part of the “documents on the right to use the site” or “other site-identification documents” group under point dd, clause 1, Article 32 of Decree No. 96/2026/ND-CP (31 March 2026) — issued by the industrial park management board. One is a “decision permitting investment”; the other is “evidence of the project site.” Confusing them means preparing the wrong file and losing time.
What the confirmation letter contains
The letter, issued by the industrial park management board, confirms: the project name; the investor; the location of the land lot or factory within the park (lot number, area); conformity with the park’s detailed planning; the infrastructure status (ready or the handover schedule); and the period for which the site may be used. Its function: to let the investment registration authority — which for projects inside industrial parks is the management board itself — verify that the project has a specific site consistent with planning, a condition for IRC issuance. It is frequently accompanied by an in-principle land or factory lease signed with the park’s infrastructure developer.
Filing practice
In practice, investors first negotiate with the infrastructure developer on location, area, utilities, price and payment terms, then obtain the management board’s location confirmation for the dossier. Every document must be mutually consistent on the investor’s name, the investment capital and the project location. Two warnings: the confirmation letter does not replace the definitive lease — the definitive contract must be signed before construction begins; and once the IRC is issued for this site, relocating requires a project amendment procedure, so choose the site carefully before filing.
Frequently asked questions
For a project outside any industrial park, where does the “location confirmation” come from?
Outside industrial parks there is no management board. Use an office or site lease, or land-use-right documents — they serve the same “site-identification document” role under point dd, clause 1, Article 32 of Decree 96/2026/ND-CP. The function is identical; only the issuer differs.
With the confirmation letter in hand, is investment policy approval still needed?
It depends on the project: only projects within the statutory scope under the Law on Investment 143/2025 require policy approval. Most ordinary FDI projects inside industrial parks do not. The confirmation letter neither replaces nor implies policy approval — they answer different legal questions.
Does the confirmation letter have a validity period?
No general validity rule for this document type could be verified as of the writing date. In practice, many management boards and infrastructure developers stamp a 6–12 month validity on the letter — once expired, a fresh letter must be obtained, or the dossier risks being treated as relying on an expired document.
What if the management board refuses to confirm the location?
Find out why: exhausted land fund, a business line incompatible with the park’s detailed planning, or infrastructure not yet meeting requirements. The options are to choose a better-fitting industrial park or to adjust the project’s objectives or scale to fit the park’s planning.
