Provincial merger: breakthrough and challenge

The Politburo's proposal to study the merger of provinces is very appropriate and timely, accurately addressing the problem of fragmented development, scattered investment, and ineffective resource allocation in recent times.

Ninh Thuan is one of the 10 provinces with the smallest population in Vietnam (according to data calculated by mid-2024). In the photo: Phan Rang - Thap Cham city, Ninh Thuan province - Photo: QUANG DINH

This policy represents a breakthrough thinking, with profound implications for economic, cultural and social development; economic, infrastructure, social and environmental development policies will be easier to implement synchronously and more effectively on a large scale.

From an administrative perspective, merging small provinces into larger units could help streamline the state apparatus even further than is currently being done, while further reducing management costs and improving operational efficiency.

Development policies will also be re-planned in a synchronous manner, avoiding resource dispersion, duplication and overlap in management.

Furthermore, this merger also helps save a lot of budget, providing more resources to invest in economic development, infrastructure and social welfare.

Economically, provincial mergers can create larger economic zones, increase competitiveness, attract investment and maximize development potential.

Some small, economically underdeveloped provinces can benefit from the support of stronger provinces, which enjoy modern infrastructure and abundant investment capital.

Provinces with larger areas and larger populations will become important economic centers, helping to attract domestic and foreign investors due to their larger markets and more abundant human resources.

Traffic, urban and industrial park planning policies will also be implemented on a large scale, avoiding fragmentation and patchwork.

The merger also brought positive changes in the social field, helping to reduce the large differences between provinces in terms of living standards, income and development opportunities.

When localities are merged, the quality of public services such as health care, education and transportation will be improved thanks to more concentrated budgets and resources instead of being spread out and dispersed as before.

At the same time, when the provinces are merged, cultural, economic and social exchanges will take place more strongly, helping to develop the comprehensive life of the people.

Although merging provinces brings many potential benefits, there are still many difficulties and challenges that need to be carefully considered.

First of all, in terms of administration and state management, the merger process requires changes in the administrative apparatus system, from the provincial to the district and commune levels.

This leads to disruption in personnel, offices and organizational structure, causing many officials and civil servants to lose their positions or have to transfer jobs, causing psychological instability.

Unifying these policies is a major challenge, requiring careful adjustment to avoid overlap or conflicts of interest.

Economically, the difference in development levels between the merged provinces could create an imbalance in resources.

Businesses and investors from more developed provinces may be concerned about having to share investment incentives with less developed provinces, causing a sense of apprehension. In addition, the merger of provinces also poses socio-cultural difficulties.

Each locality has its own cultural identity and customs, which can lead to difficulties in integration and create a sense of disagreement, even with something as simple as changing the name of an administrative place.

In addition, geographical and infrastructure difficulties also need to be assessed. The unsynchronized transportation system can make it take people more time to travel to new government agencies.

At the same time, public services such as health care, education, and social security may be disrupted during the transition period, especially in areas far from the new administrative center...

In general, merging provinces helps bring many potential benefits in terms of administration, economy and socio-culture, not just to meet the three mechanical criteria of population size, area and number of district-level administrative units.

To ensure a smooth merger, careful preparation, a reasonable roadmap and synchronous solutions are needed to minimize possible negative impacts.

It is important to ensure consensus from people and businesses, avoid causing instability during the transition process, thereby helping to maximize the benefits of restructuring the local administrative system.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sap-nhap-tinh-dot-pha-va-thach-thuc-20250222091004027.htm