HÀ NỘI — With the number of cities and provinces across Việt Nam planned to be reduced by half within the year, experts believe that the impacts of this rearrangement will present opportunities to create new marine-centred development spaces. This topic was a main focus at recent talks on the matter in Hà Nội that brought together officials and various stakeholders to discuss how these administrative unit changes can create a new momentum for national growth. According to Phan Trung Tuấn, head of the Department of Local Government under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly and the Government had considered carefully before determining that this is the right time to rearrange the country’s administrative units. Expanding development space is one of the major goals, Tuấn explained, but many other issues must be considered, such as geography, culture and regional and inter-regional planning.Another objective is to build a streamlined apparatus that operates efficiently and effectively, as Party chief Tô Lâm has pointed out.As for the sea-oriented development strategy, Tuấn believes that merging inland regions with coastal areas is consistent with the country’s national development policies, as Việt Nam has an extensive coastline and vast waters.The country’s recent socio-economic development has also aligned with this strategy, as reflected in the planning of major transport and railway routes that are linked to coastal zones. With its current 63 cities and provinces, Việt Nam has 28 localities with coastlines, all of which have seaports, except for Ninh Bình and Bạc Liêu. The country also has eight non-coastal cities and provinces with inland ports.According to Resolution 60 of the 11th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, Việt Nam will merge its administrative units to reduce the number of localities from 63 to 34, including 28 provinces and six centrally governed cities.This means Việt Nam will have only 21 coastal provinces compared to the current 28. However, the proportion of cities and provinces with coastlines after the mergers will increase from 44 per cent (28 out of 63 localities) to 62 per cent (21 out of 34 localities).Among these, 21 coastal cities and provinces have seaports, while two provinces without a coastline (new Đồng Nai and Tây Ninh) will have inland ports.From a planning perspective, Trần Ngọc Chính, chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association (VUPDA) and former Deputy Minister of Construction, said that the directive to connect inland provinces -- especially highland areas like the Central Highlands -- with coastal localities is a strategic planning mindset that fits the current context of integrated development.The Central Highlands currently consists of five provinces covering a total area of over 50,000 square kilometres that is home to a population of about six million people.However, what is considered more important than the region’s population or land area is its strategic value, which lies in its unique cultural identities, distinct climate, and abundant natural resources.This region is the starting point for many large rivers, such as the Sê San and the Đồng Nai rivers, that are crucial for the socio-economic development of the central coastal and southeastern regions. They not only have value in terms of irrigation and energy but also contribute to the natural and economic connectivity between regions.Most people often think of the Central Highlands as a land of majestic forests, the home of vast plateaus such as Kon Tum, Di Linh and Buôn Ma Thuột. However, although these plateaus are geographically adjacent, the area is fragmented by rugged terrain.Chính said that during the research and development of Việt Nam’s socio-economic strategies, there were times when experts and policymakers proposed dividing the Central Highlands into two separate regions.Meanwhile, the northern provinces of the Central Highlands could have been merged with the south-central coastal area, due to the key strategic transportation routes they share with the region. — VNS (ICE HO CHI MINH CITY)

Fonte notizia: Vietnam News