In the context of growing globalization and deepening integration, the fragmented and decentralized administrative model has revealed significant limitations, hindering the full development potential of regions and reducing the country's national competitiveness. The administrative merger process redraws boundaries while simultaneously shaping a harmonized development space, unlocking socio-economic, cultural, and human resources, and creating a major opportunity for Vietnam to assert its position and aspirations for national strength in the new era.
Problem statement
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Throughout the history of nation-building, the organization, adjustment, and management of territorial space has always been of strategic importance, reflecting both the vision and capability of national governance. Vietnam with its elongated geography, diverse regions, and rich cultural-historical traditions has undergone several administrative boundary changes to meet development needs at different times. However, as the country entered the 21st century amid rapid integration and development, the outdated administrative model began to expose many weaknesses: fragmentation, lack of regional connectivity, and underutilization of local potential.
Challenges such as uneven population distribution, patchy infrastructure, limited budgets, and overlapping functions among provincial and district-level governments have increased operational costs, obstructed administrative reform, and slowed socio-economic progress. The imperative now is to restructure administrative boundaries towards a streamlined, effective model suitable for modern development scales.
On July 1, 2025, Vietnam officially launched the process of merging and restructuring administrative units, marking a new historical milestone in improving national governance. This is not merely an administrative decision, but a strategic move affirming the nation’s will to innovate and strive. The restructuring aims to create sufficiently large, competitive development zones with strong regional linkages, optimized resource allocation, and equitable access to public services for all citizens.
On that basis, this paper analyzes the theoretical and practical foundations of the restructuring process and proposes solutions to ensure that territorial reorganization becomes a true driver of sustainable growth, contributing to a streamlined, resilient, and prosperous Vietnam in the new era.
Theoretical
Foundation
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Administrative boundary restructuring is a core component of public administration science, aimed at establishing an effective, lean, and adaptive governance mechanism in an ever-changing socio-economic context. According to New Public Management theory, administrative systems should be reorganized to optimize resources, reduce waste, enhance public service delivery, and increase citizen satisfaction. Maintaining a fragmented and decentralized administrative structure not only inflates management costs but also slows decision-making and weakens inter-regional policy coordination.
Regional linkage theory emphasizes that larger, more integrated administrative units improve coordination across infrastructure, labor, industry, and services. This is the foundation for forming growth poles, value chains, and economic hubs that positively impact neighboring areas. In contrast, fragmented boundaries foster local interest conflicts, hinder cooperation, and severely limit development potential.
From the perspective of institutional economics, administrative boundaries form the spatial institutional framework that defines governance power and resource distribution. Rational boundaries enable effective decentralization and empower local governments with the necessary resources and authority to serve citizens while ensuring transparency, anti-corruption, and accountability. Conversely, unreasonable boundaries distort resource allocation, encourage vested interests, and degrade public service quality.
International experiences confirm the validity of administrative restructuring. Japan's “Heisei no Daigappei” merger program reduced local administrative units by over 40%, saving trillions of yen in operating costs while improving rural development policies. Since 1994, South Korea has promoted administrative consolidation to develop regional hub cities, effectively utilizing labor and infrastructure resources. Germany, France, and Sweden have also undergone major administrative reforms to enhance regional coordination and global competitiveness.
For Vietnam, restructuring administrative boundaries is inseparable from modernizing governance and institutional reform. The current multi-tier administrative system with imbalances in population, area, and economic structure has caused inequality in budget allocation, public service access, and investment capacity. As Vietnam sets its sights on becoming a high-income nation by 2045, forming large, competitive, and regionally connected development spaces with optimized management costs is essential.
Thus, the theoretical basis for restructuring the country can be based on three pillars:
First, improving governance effectiveness according to the modern public administration model;
Second, increasing regional connectivity and growth pole development capacity;
Third, ensuring fairness, transparency, and optimizing resources to create sustainable development opportunities for all classes of people.
Strategic
significance
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The administrative restructuring process initiated on July 1, 2025, has already yielded promising outcomes, demonstrating the effectiveness and strategic validity of this policy.
For example, following the merger of Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau, the area has become Vietnam’s largest economic zone, covering over 6,700 km² with a population of nearly 14 million, and a projected GRDP of over VND 2.7 quadrillion, contributing approximately VND 678 trillion to the national budget. This “super province” integrates major strengths: Ho Chi Minh City as a financial hub, Binh Duong with its industrial and high-tech manufacturing prowess, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau’s ports, logistics, and coastal tourism. This integration enables a complete economic ecosystem, optimizes geographical resources, enhances policy coordination, and strengthens sustainable regional connectivity.
Similarly, merging Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh has formed a new economic hub in northern Vietnam, with a combined population of approximately 5.5 million and an area of nearly 5,000 km². This region possesses diverse strengths, from manufacturing and high-tech agriculture to spiritual and ecological tourism. The consolidation allows for integrated industrial zones, urban areas, and transport infrastructure, eliminating fragmentation and fostering new growth, while easing Hanoi’s population and traffic pressures and supplementing high-quality labor.
Coastal provinces in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands have also begun appropriate-scale mergers to connect sea–forest–highland spaces, enabling integrated resource and service development. A notable example is the potential unification of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Phu Yen into a coastal–industrial–agricultural high-tech zone, harnessing cultural heritage and coastal tourism potential.
These results highlight the strategic value of territorial reorganization in creating large, competitive growth poles while overcoming long-standing fragmentation. At the Resolution’s announcement ceremony, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that this restructuring is a “historic, strategically significant move” ushering in a new phase of institutional reform and administrative modernization, laying the groundwork for a strong and enduring Vietnam.
Academically, the results align with earlier theoretical analysis: sufficiently large administrative units with diverse strengths improve policy coordination, optimize resource use, and foster innovation. This is the foundation for Vietnam to elevate its global value chain position, accelerate industrialization and modernization, and achieve sustainable development in the 21st century.
Conclusion and Recommendations
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The administrative restructuring process launched on July 1, 2025, marks a historic turning point for Vietnam, reflecting a strategic vision and bold reform in building a streamlined and modern state apparatus. Initial successes such as the merger of Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau, and the consolidation of Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh - confirm the feasibility of creating large, diverse development spaces with greater competitiveness, overcoming decades of fragmentation.
International experience reinforces the view that rational administrative boundaries with appropriate scale and balance across population, economy, and geography enhance regional coordination, optimize public investment, and drive effective administrative reform. Public consensus, business community support, and the engagement of all levels of government are key to ensuring this process’s long-term success.
However, to fully realize the potential of the “Organization of two-level local government”, the article proposes a number of important recommendations:
First, continue to build a synchronous and clear legal framework, especially on decentralization and delegation standards, as well as criteria on population size, economy, and geography for merged administrative units.
Second, have a broad communication policy, create social consensus, help people understand the meaning, long-term benefits and minimize psychological turmoil during the merger process.
Third, promote investment in transport infrastructure, information technology, and online public services, to ensure that all merged regions have equal, fair, and convenient access to services.
Fourth, strengthen the mechanism for monitoring, checking, and periodically evaluating the implementation process, promptly adjusting shortcomings, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the new apparatus.
Fifth, develop training and development programs for officials to improve management capacity, regional coordination thinking and policy implementation ability in new administrative boundary conditions.
With a firm development vision, nationwide consensus, and lessons from both domestic and international experiences, the territorial restructuring process will undoubtedly become a powerful driver, propelling Vietnam into a new stage of stronger, more resilient development, aligned with the national aspiration for prosperity in the 21st century.
Jurist Doan Manh Phuong
