Merging provinces - Expanding development space for Da Nang

Lack of land

On January 1, 1997, Da Nang city officially became a centrally-governed city. After 28 years of development, the city's economy has transformed dramatically.

After more than 28 years of becoming a centrally-governed city, Da Nang's economy has transformed dramatically but is facing difficulties due to limited land resources.

Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) increased from 2,589.8 billion VND in 1997 to 151,307 billion VND in 2024; GRDP per capita increased from 420 USD/person/year in 1997 to 4,719 USD/person/year in 2024, an increase of more than 11 times; total budget revenue increased from 1,625 billion VND in 1997 to 27,285 billion VND in 2024, an increase of nearly 17 times; export turnover increased from 155 million USD in 1997 to 1.91 billion USD in 2024, an increase of more than 12 times; urban scale is continuously expanded; infrastructure system is complete, synchronous and modern.

The city also continuously renews itself, pioneers, and takes the lead in applying digital transformation; builds a model of an environmental city, a smart city, etc. And is the locomotive in the socio-economic development of the Central region.

However, it is easy to see that after a period of continuous "hot" growth, Da Nang city's economy has slowed down in recent years.

One of the big reasons for this is that the city has almost used up all its hard space for development. Attracting big investors seems to be more difficult when land funds are limited and scattered.

Notably, after the Covid-19 pandemic, although it was determined to prioritize resources to promote the increase of the proportion of industry in the economic structure towards a more sustainable and resilient economy, Da Nang is still struggling in a "tight shirt" of land resources.

If included in the plan to merge provinces, it will open up a large space for Da Nang's economic development as well as create a driving force to promote the regional economy.

“Loosen the tight shirt” for development

Currently, there are 49 provinces and cities nationwide that do not meet the standards for provincial-level administrative units. Of these, Da Nang City is one of three localities that do not meet the two standards for area and number of district-level administrative units.

Da Nang City currently has an area of ​​about 1,285 km2 (compared to the minimum area standard as prescribed of 5,000 km2) with 8 district-level administrative units (the number of district-level administrative units as prescribed is 9 units or more).

The Central Government is currently considering a plan to merge provinces and implement a two-level government model (provincial and grassroots levels).

If the reorganization plan includes the merger of Da Nang city with another province (either Quang Nam province or Hue city - two neighboring localities of Da Nang), it will open up a great opportunity to "loosen the tight shirt" for Da Nang's economy to take off.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Bui Quang Binh - Former Head of the Faculty of Economics, University of Economics - University of Danang, merging provinces is a very correct policy and step. From an economic perspective, merging provinces will mobilize resources more effectively.

“The lesson here is that when Ha Tay (old) was merged into Hanoi City, the development space increased significantly, and the population size was larger. When making policies, allocating resources based on a large scale will be more effective; infrastructure investment will no longer be fragmented but more regional; and connectivity between localities will be greater,” Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Quang Binh cited.

A corner of modern Da Nang city

In the specific case of Da Nang city, according to Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Quang Binh, for developed provinces and cities like Da Nang city, the space is no longer available, so after the merger, it will be expanded. Da Nang itself in economic policy planning is calculated within the scale of Da Nang Region.

If the province is merged, Da Nang city will have more hard space for economic development. On the contrary, from an economic perspective, Da Nang city's economy is the most developed in the central coastal region, so if the province is merged, the people in the merged locality with Da Nang will also benefit, most clearly Da Nang city has a high-quality education and health care system and human resources. "Da Nang city is allowed by the Central Government to pilot many special policies and mechanisms, such as Resolution 136 of the National Assembly. In the case of a provincial merger, these policies and mechanisms may be applied more widely on a scale," Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Quang Binh analyzed.

If the province is merged, Da Nang city will have more hard space for economic development. On the contrary, from an economic perspective, Da Nang city's economy is the most developed in the Central Coast region, so if the province is merged, local people in the remaining localities will also benefit.

Vu Le

Source: https://congthuong.vn/sap-nhap-tinh-noi-khong-gian-phat-trien-cho-da-nang-379626.html