Ho Chi Minh City seeks public opinion on merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau

Many wards in Ho Chi Minh City's Thu Duc City distributed ballots to solicit residents' views on the potential merger of provincial-level administrative units on Sunday morning. Residents were asked whether they "agree" or "disagree" with merging the entire natural area and population of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau to form a new Ho Chi Minh City. The ballots also provided space for additional comments.

Hoang Tung, Chairman of the Thu Duc City People's Committee, stated that the collection of public opinions was conducted at the request of HCMC's Department of Home Affairs.

The Department of Home Affairs announced that the consultation process would take place from April 12-13.

Skyscrapers in central Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

HCMC spans over 2,095 sq.km and is home to nearly 10 million people. Its administrative units comprise Thu Duc City, 21 districts, and 273 wards, communes, and towns.

Binh Duong covers 2,694 sq.km and has over 2.4 million residents, with 4 cities, one town, and 4 districts, comprising 45 wards, 5 towns, and 41 communes.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau, with an area of 1,982 sq.km, is home to over 1.3 million people, distributed across 40 communes, 30 wards, and 7 towns in 3 cities and 4 districts.

These three provinces are among the most economically and socially developed in the southeast region of Vietnam and the country at large.

After the merger, the new Ho Chi Minh City will span more than 6,772 sq.km and have a population of over 13.7 million, forming a new super city. The political and administrative center will remain at 86 Le Thanh Ton, District 1, HCMC, with additional offices in the Binh Duong Provincial Administrative Center on Le Loi Street, Thu Dau Mot City, and the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Administrative Center on Pham Van Dong Street, Ba Ria City.

At the 11th plenary session that wrapped up on Saturday, the 13th Party Central Committee agreed to reduce the number of provincial-level administrative units nationwide from 63 to 34, which will include 28 provinces and 6 centrally-managed cities.

Other potential merger options under consideration include Da Nang and Quang Nam, Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, Hai Phong and Hai Duong, Lao Cai and Yen Bai, and Quang Ngai and Kon Tum.