Ministry of Home Affairs: Information about the merger of 16 provinces and cities is false.

In recent days, information has been spreading on social networks that the State will continue to merge administrative units from the current 34 provinces and cities down to 16 provinces and cities.

Speaking with VietNamNet, Mr. Phan Trung Tuan, Director of the Department of Local Government ( Ministry of Home Affairs ) said that the information about merging 34 provinces and cities into 16 provinces and cities is inaccurate and untrue.

Mr. Tuan said that the Party, National Assembly and Government do not have any policy on continuing to merge provinces, cities or commune-level administrative units.

Mr. Phan Trung Tuan, Director of the Department of Local Government (Ministry of Home Affairs). Photo: TH

According to Mr. Tuan, the recent decision to reorganize administrative units has strategic significance in order to perfect a unified, streamlined, effective and efficient administrative apparatus; to build a modern, close-to-the-people and people-oriented governance system. This reform not only aims to reduce focal points, streamline staff, and save budget, but also to create space for long-term development for localities.

Since July 1, the two-level local government model (province and commune/ward/special zone) has been deployed synchronously nationwide.

Currently, the country has 34 provinces and cities and 3,321 commune-level administrative units. This is the result after the National Assembly passed the Resolution on the arrangement of provincial-level administrative units in 2025.

Photo: Hoang Ha

Mr. Tuan said that the Ministry of Home Affairs is drafting a new decree to guide the collection of public opinions when establishing, dissolving, merging, dividing, adjusting boundaries and renaming administrative units.

This draft does not have any list of further mergers from 34 to 16 provinces as information is spreading online.

According to Mr. Tuan, the issuance of this new decree is necessary because the Law on Organization of Local Government in 2025 has stipulated a 2-level administrative unit model, and at the same time added the type of "special zone". Meanwhile, the current decrees (54/2018 and 66/2023) are built according to the old 3-level local government model (province, district, commune) which is no longer suitable.

"In the draft decree, there is no appendix related to the arrangement and merger from 34 provinces to 16 provinces as rumored on social networks," Mr. Tuan said.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-noi-vu-thong-tin-sap-nhap-con-16-tinh-thanh-la-sai-su-that-2463437.html