On June 12, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam officially passed Resolution 60/NQ-TW on the rearrangement of provincial-level administrative units. The resolution includes merging provincial-level administrative units, abolishing district-level units, and merging commune-level units, thus building a two-level local government model. The merger officially downsizes from 63 to 34 provinces and provincial-level cities, which include 28 provinces and 6 centrally-run cities. Of these, 19 provinces and 4 cities were formed after restructuring, and 11 provinces and cities did not undergo restructuring. The newly formed provincial-level administrative units had taken effect from July 1, 2025.
Legal Basis and Implementation Timeline
Key Legal Instruments: Resolution 60 and Decision 759
On April 14, the government of Vietnam issued Decision No. 759/QD-TTg (“Decision 759”), which outlines a specific plan to rearrange 52 provincial-level administrative units. This decision also details the expected areas, populations, and administrative centers for 34 provinces and cities following the merger. As Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 took effect on June 12, 2025, the names for Vietnam’s newly formed provinces and cities have been finalized.
Institutional and Political Reorganization
Following the mergers, Party organizations were established, and personnel were appointed to Party Committees, People’s Councils, People’s Committees, and Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committees at provincial and commune levels.
The restructuring is slated to be completed by December 31, 2025.
Preparation and Planning Process
In preparation for the merger, the government focused on developing a plan for reorganizing administrative units at the provincial, district, and commune levels.
Pre-Merger Economic and Administrative Assessment
Beyond procedural preparation, the government also carried out a substantive pre-merger assessment of administrative viability. This included evaluating fiscal capacity, population size, geographic coherence, and economic linkages between provinces. In several cases, merger decisions reflected existing economic interdependence rather than purely administrative convenience. For example, provinces with established industrial supply chains or shared infrastructure corridors were prioritized for consolidation. This indicates that the reform was not only administratively driven, but also grounded in economic planning considerations.
Preparation for the mergers involved the adoption of central government policies, the establishment of steering committees, the development of restructuring plans by local authorities, and public consultation before final approval by the National Assembly.
Public Consultation and Legal Procedures
On December 16, 2025, the Government issued Decree 321/2025/ND-CP guiding the process of soliciting public opinion on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, boundary adjustment, and renaming of administrative units, effective from December 16, 2025.
People’s Committees at all levels shall organize public dissemination and promotion of information regarding the collection of public opinions on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, adjustment of administrative boundaries, and renaming of administrative units in accordance with the practical situation of the locality and the provisions of the law on the implementation of grassroots democracy.
Economic Rationale for the Reform
The reorganization is a move made to expand the space for new economic development. Currently, the small scale of many administrative units is dispersing resources and limiting the potential for socio-economic development. This causes difficulties in planning, infrastructure investment, attracting businesses, as well as developing large-scale industries, trade and services.
Expected Benefits and Development Impact
The reorganization is expected to overcome such limitations, concentrate resources, optimize planning and increase investment attraction. At the same time, this process also aims to maximize the potential and advantages of each locality, strengthen development links between regions after the reorganization. In addition, preserving cultural identity, historical traditions and community solidarity are still important principles that need to be ensured.
Political Vision and Strategic Framing
Party General Secretary To Lam stated that the newly defined urban space is built on a long-term vision for sustainable, integrated and scientific development. The reform, he noted, symbolizes strategic thinking and innovation in public administration, aimed at bringing government closer to the people and serving them more efficiently. The party leader hailed the move as a bold and pioneering step with breakthrough significance in urban governance reform, one that will allow for rapid, robust, and effective growth.
Broader Reform Context
This comes amongst a slew of major reformative changes imposed by the Vietnam National Assembly this year to create a new, modernized, state-of-the-art government that shifts from being management-oriented to service-oriented.
Challenges: Overlapping Planning Frameworks
After the merger of provincial-level administrative units, the problem of overlapping planning is posing a big challenge, as some localities will have multiple plans coexisting (national, regional, provincial), and many current plans are no longer suitable for the new boundaries or development orientation. To solve this situation, the Government proposed a transitional solution to ensure no interruption in operations. Specifically, plans approved before the Resolution of the 9th session will continue to be implemented until there is a replacement or adjustment plan. Two national sectoral plans for the 2021-2030 period that have been appraised but not yet approved are also subject to transitional adjustment.
Need for Comprehensive Planning Reform
In the long run, comprehensive reform law on Planning is necessary because previous plans became inconsistent and lacked coherence after the merger of provinces and cities, causing delays in development. This law is expected to be presented at the 10th Session in October 2025, at the same time as the Land Law and the Real Estate Law, to prepare for the 2031-2040 planning period.
