What criteria should be used to select the administrative center for the newly merged province?

What criteria should be used to choose the "capital"?

In a recent meeting, the Standing Committee of the Government Party Committee agreed to submit to competent authorities a plan to reduce the number of provincial-level administrative units by about 50%. The country has 63 provinces and cities, with 63 administrative-political centers located in central locations, spacious, beautiful, and convenient for travel.

However, with the 50% reduction in the number of provincial administrative units, the question arises, when merging 2 or 3 provinces into one, where should the administrative - political center be located to be most suitable?

Suggesting criteria for selecting an administrative-political center, at the above meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the selection of an administrative-political center must consider historical, geographical, infrastructure connectivity, development space, defense, security and integration factors.

In addition, the Prime Minister noted that the arrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels is to strengthen authority, further promote the self-reliance, autonomy and self-reliance of local levels. Organizing the government closer to the people, more closely to the people, solving work for the people more conveniently; bringing more benefits to the people.

Through many times of splitting and merging provinces, Mr. Nguyen Tuc, member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, said that choosing where to locate the "capital" when merging provinces is always a matter of concern for people, officials, and civil servants because of the impact on the place where their children live, work, and study.

“Many officials and civil servants have stable homes, but now that the province is merged and the administrative center is moved to another place, they may have to move their families as well, leading to many impacts.

Therefore, the authorities need to study the plan to locate a suitable administrative center and soon announce it so that officials and civil servants know to arrange suitable living places," said Mr. Tuc.

A former leader of the Ministry of Construction said that the location of administrative and political centers is under the authority of state agencies and localities based on the consensus of the people, and the law has no specific regulations on this issue.

Through many times of merging and splitting provinces, this leader said that most localities choose geographically central areas, convenient in transportation, with historical value to set up administrative-political centers. In case two provinces merge into one, the administrative center of a former province can be chosen as the "capital", if that area meets the requirements in terms of facilities.

“Choosing the old headquarters of a locality as the administrative-political center for a new province will help take advantage of existing infrastructure, avoid having to build a new headquarters, and save significant resources to invest in other areas,” he said.

However, according to him, it is also possible to choose a completely new location to place the administrative center, meeting development requirements and suitable for conditions, space, and development goals after the merger.

Should be in the central area

Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association Tran Ngoc Chinh said that in the case of 2 or 3 provinces merging together, it is not necessary to choose the "capital" of the larger province as the administrative and political center of the new province.

On the contrary, it is not for the purpose of “pulling” small localities to develop that place to be the “capital”. According to him, the important criteria for choosing the administrative-political center when provinces are merged together are: geographical location in the central area, convenient transportation infrastructure, cultural history… and the current status of the headquarters of the provinces and cities.

Among the above criteria and standards, the Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association said that geographical location is one of the important criteria for choosing an administrative - political center.

This area must be centrally located between the merged provinces, ensuring convenient travel by road, rail and air. Next, the current status of the headquarters of the provinces and cities must be considered.

The Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association noted that when choosing a location for an administrative-political center, historical and cultural values ​​must be taken into account to both meet development requirements and ensure continuity and suitability.

Former Director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture Dao Ngoc Nghiem said that most of the administrative and political centers of the provinces are currently located in the central areas of provincial capitals, in central districts, or in city and town areas... convenient for travel.

However, there are also provinces and cities where, due to historical factors, the administrative and political centers are located in crowded areas, which are not convenient for travel and development.

Therefore, when studying the option of choosing the "capital" when merging provinces, it is not necessary to choose the administrative - political center in a large or small province, but must be based on the requirements of development when implementing streamlining the organizational apparatus.

Driving force of urban economic development

Speaking to reporters, many experts said that the selection of the "capital" should first be based on the national master plan and regional development plan.

These plans have clearly oriented the organization of development space of the region, as well as localities. They clearly state that development must be focused and key, concentrating on a number of areas with favorable conditions in terms of geographical location, economic and social infrastructure, high-quality human resources and other potentials and advantages for development to form dynamic regions, economic corridors, growth poles, creating a spillover effect to promote the rapid, effective and sustainable development of the whole country's economy.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nghiem said that the national master plan has divided the country into 6 economic regions. In those 6 economic regions, it has determined which region is the central region, the driving force, the most important economic growth pole.

Therefore, it is possible to base on those plans to consider choosing the "capital", and at the same time, it is also necessary to base on the type of urban area and criteria, standards for classifying administrative units and urban development requirements to choose the administrative - political center when merging provinces.

Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association Tran Ngoc Chinh said that it is not necessary to choose the administrative and political center of the old province, but in the future it is completely possible to study and choose a new area that meets the requirements and goals set, creating new momentum for development.

“This could also be an opportunity to study the planning of a new administrative-political center with a longer-term vision, thereby stimulating the development of a new, modern land, attracting people to live and work,” said Mr. Chinh.