Mr. Hoang Hai Van, Director of the Organization and Personnel Department of the Ministry of Construction, shared at the Conference on Reviewing the Work in 2024 and Directions, Key Tasks, and Solutions for 2025, held on December 14, about the plan to merge the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport.
According to Mr. Hoang Hai Van, following the directive on streamlining and reorganizing the government apparatus, the Ministry of Construction has been working intensively with the Ministry of Transport over the past two weeks to develop a proposal for the merger of the two ministries.
The proposal for the merger is built on the principle of treating the two ministries as one entity, without distinguishing between “us” and “them.” This approach involves an honest assessment of overlapping functions and tasks and those that are interconnected. As a result, bold and innovative solutions are suggested to restructure the organizations within the ministries, aiming for a more streamlined and scientific structure that enhances their effectiveness and efficiency.
The Ministry of Construction was established in 1958 and has been in operation for over 65 years. On the other hand, the Ministry of Transport has an even longer history, dating back to 1945, making it nearly 80 years old.
Headquarters of the Ministry of Construction. Photo: The Anh.
The names “Ministry of Construction” and “Ministry of Transport” have a long-standing presence and are well-suited to the ministries’ functions and roles in previous periods, intertwined with their historical development. The tentative name for the merged ministry is the “Ministry of Construction and Transport.”
Before the merger, the two ministries had a total of 42 organizational units, with 19 belonging to the Ministry of Construction and 23 to the Ministry of Transport. It is anticipated that after the reorganization, the number of units will be reduced to 25-27, equivalent to a decrease of 35-40% in the total number of units. This includes 6 units in the advisory and administrative block, approximately 14-16 units in the specialized block, and 5 units in the public service block.
Internally, the Ministry of Construction has undergone a transformation over the past seven years, implementing Resolution 18. As a result, the ministry now has 15 administrative units, having dissolved two administrative units; the number of division-level units has been reduced from 57 to 41, a decrease of 19.3%.
In 2019, the Ministry merged the Administrative and Archives Office under the Office of the Ministry of Construction into the Administrative – Archives Office. They also reduced the number of division-level units in the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management from 9 to 6 and eliminated all division-level units in the Departments of Planning and Finance and Organization and Personnel.
The Ministry of Construction has transferred the management of 14 units to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and local authorities. The Construction Hospital was transferred to the management of Hanoi National University, while the Viet Tri Construction Hospital and two Rehabilitation and Recuperation Centers were handed over to local management. The ministry also completed the merger of the Southern Institute of Urban and Rural Planning into the National Institute of Urban and Rural Planning. Currently, the Ministry of Construction has 18 public service units under its management.
