HCMC – Six districts in HCMC, covering a natural area of less than seven square kilometers and with a population of under 300,000 residents, will undergo re-arrangement in the next three years, as per the HCMC authorities’ plans.
Nguyen Van Hieu, a representative of the HCMC Department of Internal Affairs, shared this information during a press conference on socio-economic development held on August 3.
Additionally, 149 commune-level units in the city that do not meet the required conditions of population and natural area will also be subject to re-arrangement. So far, the city has already re-arranged seven units.
The plan dictates that districts must be merged if they don’t have at least 300,000 people and seven square kilometers of natural area, while communes must have at least 240,000 people and 90 square kilometers of natural areas.
The six districts not meeting the required conditions for natural areas and populations are District 3 (4.92 square kilometers), District 4 (4.18 square kilometers), District 5 (4.27 square kilometers), District 10 (5.72 square kilometers), District 11 (5.14 square kilometers), and Phu Nhuan District (4.6 square kilometers).
The merger of administrative units will involve seeking feedback from residents. If more than 50% of the total voters in the area are in favor of the option, the People’s Council at all levels will discuss and make the final decision on the re-arrangement.
Upon approval by the city People’s Council, the HCMC People’s Committee will finalize the plan and submit it to the Ministry of Justice for consideration before obtaining approval from the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Since 1975, HCMC has undergone seven separations and mergers of administrative units. The latest re-arrangement occurred in late 2020 with the merger of districts 2, 9, and Thu Duc into Thu Duc City, along with 19 wards.
