On this occasion, Sai Gon Giai Phong (SGGP) spoke with Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong of the municipal People’s Committee about the significance and implementation of the move.
According to Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong, the classification is an inevitable step as the city adjusts its development space and reorganizes its administrative system following recent restructuring. It also implements the Government’s directive under Decree No. 307/2025/ND-CP on administrative classification.
He said the process aims to assess the scale, development level and governance capacity of each locality. This provides a basis for socio-economic policy planning, organizational structuring, staffing decisions and the formulation of appropriate policies for local officials and civil servants. It also enables the city to better monitor administrative performance and service delivery to residents and businesses across different areas, allowing timely adjustments.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong added that in the long term, the classification is expected to shift the city’s management approach from one based primarily on administrative boundaries to one tailored to local development characteristics, in line with the demands of a dynamic megacity.
He emphasized that the core principle is moving away from uniform allocation of resources toward a model that reflects the specific conditions of each locality. For first-tier units, the city will have a basis to strengthen management capacity, including personnel and operational conditions, in line with actual workloads and pressures.
For second-tier units, the administrative structure will be designed to match their scale and characteristics, ensuring alignment with real management needs. Investment resources will also be allocated based on actual demand, avoiding fragmentation. This approach operationalizes existing regulations on administrative classification and serves as a foundation for organizational design, staffing and resource distribution.
The city has made clear that classification must go hand in hand with implementation, said the city Vice Chairman. Following the announcement, classification criteria will be directly linked to administrative restructuring and staffing plans. Budget allocation norms and public investment plans will also be reviewed for each group of localities, with priority given to first-tier wards and communes to address pressing infrastructure and public service challenges.
Second-tier areas will focus on strengthening development conditions and completing infrastructure in a more coordinated manner. At the same time, a regular monitoring and evaluation mechanism will be maintained, allowing for timely adjustments if implementation does not align with reality.
According to him, the review of communes for potential conversion into wards is the next step and is closely tied to the classification results. The process helps identify localities that meet the criteria in terms of population, infrastructure and urbanization level, forming the basis for a phased transition.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong stressed that this must be carried out based on strict and multi-dimensional criteria to ensure stable administrative operations and improved services for residents and businesses after conversion. The process will be gradual and selective, aligned with the city’s urban development strategy.
The establishment of new wards must comply with legal standards and government regulations, which the city has translated into a clear set of criteria. These include population size, natural area and urbanization level.
Under current regulations, a commune must have a population of at least 21,000, a natural area of 5.5 square kilometers or more, and an urban population ratio of at least 50 percent to qualify for ward status. These are considered fundamental indicators of urban development.
Additional criteria relate to economic structure, requiring that industry, construction and services account for at least 70 percent of GRDP, and that non-agricultural labor also exceed 70 percent.
Another key group of criteria concerns fiscal balance and living standards. Local budget revenue must be equal to or greater than expenditure, while per capita income must exceed the city’s average over the past three years. The poverty rate, based on multidimensional standards, must also remain below the city average over the same period. Technical and social infrastructure, as well as the quality of public services, are also carefully assessed to ensure readiness for urban governance.
All criteria are quantified and benchmarked against the city’s planning and development orientation, ensuring an objective and rigorous evaluation process.
Ultimately, the issue most relevant to residents and businesses is the quality of local governance. With clearer classification and more appropriate organizational structures, administrative procedures are expected to better reflect local realities, shorten processing times and reduce overload in densely populated areas.
The transition of eligible communes into wards is intended to align governance models with urbanization levels, while enabling upgrades to infrastructure and public services. Overall, both the classification of units in communes and their conversion into wards aim to improve governance quality and service delivery across the city.
Last but not least, he said that residents and businesses, whether living in communes or wards, are expected to benefit from more appropriate development conditions, improved access to public services and a better living environment.
