The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport after the merger will reduce the number of focal points by 40%.

After the arrangement, merger and consolidation, the number of focal points of the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport decreased from 42 units to 25-27 units, a reduction equivalent to 35-40% of the total number of focal points.

Conference to review 2024 and deploy key tasks and solutions for 2025 of the construction industry. (Photo: Thu Hang/VNA)

The Ministry of Construction is the Ministry with the most streamlined organizational structure in the last four Government terms, despite the fact that the functions and tasks assigned to the Ministry of Construction have continuously increased over the terms and the assigned staffing quota is very limited.

This is the information shared by Mr. Hoang Hai Van - Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel (Ministry of Construction) - at the conference summarizing 2024 and orienting key tasks and solutions for 2025 of the industry held on December 14 in Hanoi.

During the 2006-2011 Government term, the Ministry of Construction was assigned additional state management functions for two new areas: urban development and real estate business.

During the 2011-2016 Government term, the Ministry of Construction was assigned 26 additional tasks in 5 areas under the Ministry's management.

During the 2016-2021 Government term, the Ministry was assigned 21 additional tasks according to the provisions of specialized laws. During the 2021-2026 Government term, the Ministry of Construction was assigned to clarify the functions and tasks of state management of parks, construction mechanics, and digital transformation of the industry.

Regarding the assigned staffing quota, Mr. Hoang Hai Van said that the Ministry of Construction has never been assigned more than 400 positions and has gradually decreased over the years. In 2024, the number of positions assigned to the Ministry of Construction will be 357 positions and in the period 2022-2026, the Ministry will be assigned only 339 positions until the end of 2026.

Implementing the direction of the Central Steering Committee and the Government Steering Committee to summarize Resolution 18 - Some issues on continuing to innovate and reorganize the apparatus of the political system to be streamlined and operate effectively and efficiently, in the past two weeks, the Ministry of Construction has urgently and actively worked with the Ministry of Transport to develop a project to merge the two ministries.

Basically, the work of developing the Summary Report of Resolution 18 and the draft Project for Merging the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport has been completed.

According to Mr. Hoang Hai Van, in the context of many and heavy tasks assigned through each Government term, the Ministry of Construction still maintains the most streamlined structure.

The Ministry does not form a General Department level, does not establish a number of administrative organizations that are present in other Ministries such as the Department of Emulation and Reward, the Department of Administration... but these organizations are all streamlined into departments within the units under the Ministry. The Ministry of Construction is also one of the first Ministries to abolish the division model within the Department.

The administrative agencies under the Ministry have basically been established, maintaining stable names and operating models for the past four terms.

Some agencies have been upgraded, transformed in model or reorganized and rearranged in the last two terms (from Department to Bureau, from Board to Department) all stemming from practical management requirements, the addition of tasks to the Ministry of Construction through each term and the requirement of administrative reform.

In addition, the Ministry of Construction has promoted the consolidation of the internal organization of public service units; merged, arranged, and reorganized departments within units to reduce focal points, avoid overlapping functions and tasks, and reduce staff. At the same time, strictly implemented the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws in promoting the arrangement, equitization, divestment, and restructuring of state-owned enterprises.

After 7 years of implementing Resolution 18, the organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction now has only 15 administrative units; the number of departments in administrative units has been reduced from 54 to 46 (equivalent to 28%); 74/532 focal points have been reduced, equivalent to 14% of the total number of focal points in public service units.

The Ministry of Construction has also transferred 5 enterprises to the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), divesting all state capital in 5 enterprises.

Up to now, the Ministry of Construction only represents the owner in 6 enterprises, a decrease of 10 enterprises, equivalent to 62.5% of the total number of state-owned enterprises previously.

Also after 7 years of implementing Resolution 18, the number of assigned staffing targets of the Ministry of Construction has decreased by 7.5%, now there are only 357 staffing positions; a decrease of 565 people, equivalent to 14% of the total number of employees receiving salaries from career revenue sources at public career units of the Ministry of Construction.

By 2024, the Ministry will only have about 3,500 people working with salaries from the state budget and 380 people working with salaries from career revenue sources.

In the context of the extremely streamlined organizational structure and staffing over many terms, the Party Executive Committee of the Ministry of Construction has directed the development of a project to merge the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport with two major requirements.

First of all, seriously review and evaluate the organization and apparatus within the Ministry of Construction to develop a plan to continue streamlining the apparatus; if it is already streamlined, it needs to be further streamlined.

At the same time, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport should be perceived as one, without distinguishing between "your side and mine" to frankly assess overlapping functions and tasks or those with connections and connections. Thereby, boldly propose breakthrough solutions to dissolve, merge, and reorganize the units of the two ministries in a streamlined, scientific manner and to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency, Mr. Hoang Hai Van emphasized.

Historically, the Ministry of Construction was established in 1958, more than 65 years ago. The Ministry of Transport was established in 1945, nearly 80 years ago.

The names "Ministry of Construction" and "Ministry of Transport" have existed for a long time, consistent with the state management functions of each Ministry in previous periods, closely associated with the history of formation and the feelings and spirit of the cadres, civil servants and employees of the two sectors.

It is expected that the names of the two ministries after the merger will be decided as "Ministry of Construction and Transport."

The number of focal points in the structure of the two Ministries before the merger was 42 units; of which the Ministry of Construction had 19 units and the Ministry of Transport had 23 units.

It is expected that after the arrangement, merger and consolidation, there will be 25-27 units, a reduction of 35-40% of the total number of units. Of which, the general staff block includes 6 units; the specialized block has about 14-16 units; and the public service block has 5 units.

Mr. Hoang Hai Van said that before December 20, the Department of Organization and Personnel will continue to advise the leaders of the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport to work with the Ministry of Home Affairs to complete the plan to reorganize the apparatus after the merger, and submit it to the Government Steering Committee.

At the same time, many localities are also implementing the project to merge the Department of Construction and the Department of Transport with the spirit of "running and queuing at the same time; the Central level does not wait for the provincial level, the provincial level does not wait for the district level, the district level does not wait for the grassroots level"./.

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