Nghệ An Plans to Merge Administrative Units and Expand Vinh City
Nghệ An province in central Vietnam is planning to merge several administrative units and expand the city of Vinh. The province will merge three district-level units and 94 commune-level units.
Expansion of Vinh City to Type 1 Urban Area
The three district-level units to be merged are Cua Lo town, Vinh city, and Nghi Loc district. Cua Lo town, with an area of 29.12 square kilometers and a population of 62,961, and four communes from Nghi Loc district will be merged into Vinh city.
After the merger, Vinh city will have an area of 166.25 square kilometers, a population of 509,713, and 36 commune-level units, including 27 wards and 9 communes.
 Vinh City as seen from above. Photo: Quoc Huy
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The remaining Nghi Loc district will have an area of 313.88 square kilometers, a population of 202,815, and 25 commune-level units, including 24 communes and 1 town.
Development of Vinh City as a Type 1 Urban Area
Along with the merger, Nghệ An province has developed a program for the urban development of Vinh city and submitted a proposal to recognize Vinh city as a Type 1 urban area. On November 23, 2023, the People’s Committee of Nghe An province approved the urban development program for Vinh city until 2030, with a vision to 2050.
The People’s Committee has completed the dossier for the proposal to recognize Vinh city as a Type 1 urban area and has submitted it to the Ministry of Construction for evaluation in November 2023.
In early 2024, the Ministry of Construction organized a delegation to conduct field surveys and issued a notification announcing the conclusions of the delegation’s inspection of the urban development status of Vinh city.
On March 4, the People’s Committee of Nghe An province submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Construction requesting an assessment of the proposal to recognize Vinh city as a Type 1 urban area and a report on the level of infrastructure development in the area planned for the establishment of wards in Vinh city.
The Ministry of Construction is currently sending the proposal to relevant agencies for review and organizing an evaluation council to approve the proposal.
Expansion of Vinh City’s Administrative Boundaries and Urban Space
The province has developed a plan to gather feedback from voters on the expansion of Vinh city’s administrative boundaries and urban space and plans to submit the proposal to the relevant authorities for approval by the government before June 15, 2024.
Planned Reduction of 49 Commune-Level Administrative Units
Regarding the plan to merge commune-level administrative units, Nghe An province has identified 89 commune-level units for merger, including 79 communes, 4 wards, and 6 towns.
Of the 89 commune-level units that do not meet the criteria for merger, 67 have been included in merger plans developed by local authorities, including 59 communes, 4 wards, and 4 towns, while 22 units have requested exemption due to unique factors.
Of the 22 units that have requested exemption, 19 are included in urban planning areas, and 3 have requested exemption based on geographic location, culture, customs, religion, national defense, and security.
Merger of Adjacent Units
During the development of the merger plan, 27 adjacent units were identified, including 26 units that will be fully merged and 1 unit that will have its boundaries partially adjusted to align with administrative boundaries.
Based on the proposals submitted by the districts, Nghe An province has developed a plan to merge 94 commune-level units, including 67 units that are required to merge and 27 adjacent units, into 45 units. This merger will result in a reduction of 49 commune-level administrative units in the province.
Specifically, Vinh city will merge 5 units into 2 units, resulting in a reduction of 3 units.
Do Luong district will merge 2 units into 1 unit, reducing by 1 unit.
Tan Ky district will merge 4 units into 2 units, reducing by 2 units.
Nghia Dan district will merge 5 units into 2 units, reducing by 3 units.
Quynh Luu district will merge 17 units into 8 units, reducing by 9 units.
Thanh Chuong district will merge 16 units into 7 units, reducing by 9 units.
Dien Chau district will merge 10 units into 5 units, reducing by 5 units.
Hung Nguyen district will merge 6 units into 3 units, reducing by 3 units.
Nam Dan district will merge 4 units into 2 units, reducing by 2 units.
Yen Thanh district will merge 14 units into 7 units, reducing by 7 units.
Nghi Loc district will merge 4 units into 2 units, reducing by 2 units.
Anh Son district will merge 4 units into 2 units, reducing by 2 units.
Con Cuong district will merge 3 units, including 1 unit with partial boundary adjustment, into 2 units, reducing by 1 unit.
The merger plans will be subject to public consultation by the province before May 10, 2024. The People’s Council of the province will approve the plan to merge district-level and commune-level units by June 10, 2024. The province will then finalize the proposal for submission to the government by June 25, 2024.
Thu Hang
