Which localities are included in the 52 provinces and cities proposed to be merged?

The Ministry of Justice is reviewing the draft resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement of administrative units. The draft was prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs, proposing to keep 11 provinces and cities and merge 52 provinces and cities according to new criteria.

According to this draft Resolution, the arrangement criteria for provincial and commune-level administrative units closely follow the 6 criteria that have been reviewed and agreed upon by the Politburo.

Hanoi is one of two centrally-governed cities proposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs not to be subject to rearrangement.

The criteria include: Natural area; population size; criteria on history, tradition, culture, religion, ethnicity; criteria on geo-economics (including criteria on geographical location, scale and level of economic development); criteria on geopolitics; criteria on national defense and security.

In which, the criteria of natural area and population size are determined according to the provisions of Resolution No. 1211/2016/UBTVQH13 (amended and supplemented in Resolution No. 27/2022/UBTVQH15).

The Draft Resolution also stipulates that administrative units with isolated locations and difficult to organize convenient traffic connections with adjacent administrative units; and those with especially important locations, if rearranged, will affect national defense, security, and the protection of national sovereignty, are not required to be rearranged.

Notably, the above draft proposes that 11 provincial-level administrative units will not be reorganized, including 2 centrally-run cities and 9 provinces.

Two centrally-governed cities proposed not to be included in the arrangement are Hanoi and Hue .

9 provinces not subject to the arrangement include: Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh.

Four central cities subject to rearrangement include: Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho.

The remaining 48 provinces subject to rearrangement include: 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.

Next are 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.

At the 7th conference of full-time National Assembly deputies of the 15th tenure held on March 25, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that in phase 1, the whole country has reorganized the apparatus of the political system.

Phase 2 will amend the Constitution and amend a number of laws to serve the arrangement of administrative units at the provincial and communal levels.

According to the National Assembly Chairman, the country currently has 63 provinces and cities and in the near future there will be a policy to merge a number of provinces and cities with an expected 50% of provincial and city-level units.

At the district level, if the amended Constitution is passed, there will be no more district level. Currently, the number of district-level administrative units is 696.

At the commune level, the whole country continues to reorganize commune-level administrative units, aiming to reduce 60-70% of the total 10,035 existing commune-level administrative units.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/52-tinh-thanh-duoc-de-xuat-sap-nhap-gom-nhung-dia-phuong-nao-192250326134259541.htm