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Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to establish new administrative wards as part of its ongoing administrative reorganization. Following its merger with Bình Dương Province and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, the city now has 168 administrative units at the commune level, including 113 wards, 54 communes, and the Côn Đảo Special Administrative District.
Under the plan, the city’s People’s Committee directs communes that meet relevant conditions—particularly those formed from former township areas or those that already have approved urban plans—to promptly complete the steps to develop the project according to the scheduled timeline and submit the plan to the city for consideration.
The city also requires local authorities to coordinate with relevant departments to review and adjust planning, assess urban classification standards, and prepare the urban classification project and the proposal for establishing the urban administrative unit for submission to the appropriate authorities.
For communes seeking to become wards, the standard framework is described as relatively high. Specifically, a commune must meet the following baseline requirements:
In addition, the plan sets multiple socioeconomic criteria, including:
The move to form urban administrative units—primarily by upgrading from communes to wards—is intended to align with rapid urbanization. Communes are expected to review their current status, prepare proposal dossiers, and seek public input before presenting them to city authorities for consideration.
The plan indicates that the major steps of the process are expected to be completed between April and mid-June 2026. After that, the dossier will be appraised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, reviewed by the government, and then submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for a decision.
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