Plan to merge 52 provinces, keep 11 provinces and cities intact

The Ministry of Justice has just announced the appraisal documents of the draft and the submission of the Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement of administrative units.

According to the draft resolution and submission, the criteria for arranging provincial and communal administrative units include natural area; population size; history, tradition, culture, religion, ethnicity; geo-economics; geo-politics; national defense and security.

In particular, the criteria of natural area and population size are determined according to Resolution No. 1211/2016 of the National Assembly Standing Committee (amended and supplemented in 2022) on standards and classification of administrative units.

In addition, the draft also notes that arrangements should not be made for administrative units that are isolated and have difficulty organizing convenient traffic connections, or administrative units that are in particularly important locations, affecting national defense, security, and the protection of national sovereignty.

Which are the 52 provinces and cities that will be merged?

According to the arrangement orientation criteria, it is expected that 11 provincial-level administrative units will remain the same nationwide, including: Hanoi, Hue, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh.

The remaining 52 provincial-level administrative units subject to rearrangement include 4 cities: Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho and 48 provinces: Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Ninh Thuan, Quang Tri, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa, Dak Nong, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, Hau Giang, Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, Soc Trang, Dong Thap, An Giang, Long An, Ca Mau, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Dak Lak, Dong Nai, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Kien Giang.

Also according to the draft, a province merged with a province will be called a province after the merger, and a province merged with a centrally-run city will be called a centrally-run city after the merger.

After the arrangement, the whole country has less than 3,000 communes.

When merging commune-level administrative units, it is also necessary to carefully consider specific factors of history, tradition, culture, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, customs, practices, geographical location, natural conditions, sub-regional connections, etc.

In case of merging 4 or more commune-level administrative units together, it is not necessary to take into account the standards on area and population.

However, after the reorganization, the number of commune-level administrative units must be reduced by 70-75% compared to the current number to be able to calculate the reorganization of local government according to a 2-level model (no more district level), instead of 3 levels as in the past decades.

The merger of communes will be carried out according to the principle of merging as is and it is possible to merge a commune of one district into a commune of another district. When a commune is merged with a commune, after the arrangement, the new administrative unit is called a commune; when a commune is merged with a ward, after the arrangement, the new administrative unit is called a ward.

According to the draft, with the above criteria and methods, it is expected that there will be about 9,996/10,035 commune-level administrative units subject to rearrangement. After the rearrangement, the whole country will have less than 3,000 commune-level administrative units.

Regarding names, localities will be proactive in choosing but are encouraged to name new commune-level administrative units after the names of previously arranged district-level administrative units, with serial numbers attached to facilitate digitization and updating of information data.

Support 100 billion VND/province reduction, 500 million VND/commune reduction

Regarding staffing, the draft Resolution stipulates that the number of cadres, civil servants and public employees of the new provincial and communal administrative units after the rearrangement must not exceed the total number present at the provincial and communal administrative units before the rearrangement.

However, this figure will have to be gradually reduced within 5 years after the arrangement, calculated from the effective date of this resolution.

In addition, officials holding leadership and management positions will also have their salary and allowance policies and regimes retained for 6 months from the time of placement. After this period, the salary and position allowance policies and regimes will be implemented according to the new job position in accordance with regulations.

To support and facilitate localities in implementing the arrangement of administrative units, the draft stipulates that the central budget will provide one-time support to localities receiving additional budget balance at the rate of VND 100 billion/1 reduced provincial level and VND 500 million/1 reduced commune level. This budget source will be allocated to the local budget in 2026.