Vietnam will carry out “large-scale reform”: reduce the number of provinces and cities by half

According to the Nikkei report on April 8, the Communist Party of Vietnam will significantly integrate domestic provinces and cities. Vietnam currently has 63 provinces and cities, which are expected to be reduced by half by the end of August. The move is aimed at redistributing economic resources and simplifying administrative procedures. However, some companies are overwhelmed by the rapid implementation of administrative reforms.

According to reports, there are 6 municipalities and 57 provinces in Vietnam. After the reintegration, the number of provinces and cities will be reduced to 34.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam will discuss the integration plan. The National Assembly, which will open in May, will make a resolution on the necessary legal revisions.

Many matters are still unclear, including the names of the provinces after the merger and personnel arrangements. The counties and districts under the provinces and cities will also be merged, and the local administrative divisions will be reduced from three levels to two levels.

When explaining the purpose of integrating provinces and cities, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Su Lin said: “This is not a simple change of administrative boundaries, but an adjustment of the allocation of economic resources. This is a necessary reform to develop Vietnam.”

This large-scale reform can be compared with the reform in 1976. At that time, the Vietnam War had ended, and Vietnam was unified and re-divided into provinces and cities. The Communist Party of Vietnam intended to complete the integration work on August 30.

It is reported that the largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, is likely to merge with Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and Binh Duong Province. The total population of the three places exceeds 13 million, including Vietnam’s largest trading port, and the economic scale is outstanding.

Real estate transactions are active in various places. Quang Nam Province is expected to merge with Da Nang, the core city in the central region, and land prices in the vicinity of Da Nang have risen.

Some Vietnamese political experts also pointed out: “This can reduce administrative costs and concentrate resources to promote important public investment and infrastructure development. This is an important measure to attract corporate investment and maintain economic growth.”

Local governments have previously introduced a series of preferential investment promotion measures, and it is still unclear where the relevant policies will go.