The Standing Committees of Dak Lak and Phu Yen Provincial Party Committees are scheduled to meet in Buon Ma Thuot City (Dak Lak) on April 18 to discuss and agree on a plan to merge the two localities.

The meeting will include the establishment of an inter-provincial team to coordinate the development of a project to reorganize provincial administrative units and the implementation roadmap; organization of the apparatus and personnel; arrangement of working headquarters, arrangement of official housing, support regime for officials, investment plan to upgrade National Highway 29 connecting the two provinces...

On April 13, the Dak Lak People's Committee estimated that if the merger takes place, there will be about 1,000 cadres, civil servants, and public employees (of which more than 120 are under the management of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, not including armed forces) who need to travel from Tuy Hoa City (Phu Yen) to Buon Ma Thuot City (Dak Lak) for work and vice versa (a distance of nearly 200 km).

For leaders at the department level and above, the province will arrange private official vehicles for pick-up and drop-off, allowing for proactive travel time, ensuring work requirements are met.

The remaining cadres, civil servants and public employees will use the shared vehicle with a specific schedule. The vehicle departs from Tuy Hoa City at 4:00 every Monday (at the Phu Yen Provincial People's Committee headquarters); departs from Buon Ma Thuot City at 17:30 every Friday (pick up at the Dak Lak People's Committee headquarters). During the trip, the vehicle may pick up at some additional locations to ensure convenience for cadres and civil servants.

In addition to official cars, the province also has transportation vehicles provided by fixed-route transport businesses to serve the merger. The total estimated cost for this plan (excluding official car costs) is about 1 billion VND per month, from the 2025 provincial budget and support from the Central Government.

From April to May, Dak Lak will survey the actual travel needs of officials in the two localities. In July and August, the province will implement a plan to select a contractor to provide vehicles (contract vehicles). It is expected that in September, the province will implement the plan and in January 2026, it will review the travel situation to make appropriate adjustments.

Dak Lak covers an area of ​​over 13,000 km2 (the 4th largest in the country), with a population of over 1.9 million people. The province borders Gia Lai and Phu Yen to the north, Khanh Hoa to the east, Lam Dong and Dak Nong to the south; and borders Cambodia to the west with a border of over 190 km. Basalt soil accounts for over 40% of the province's natural area, favorable for the development of industrial crops such as coffee, rubber, pepper, fruit trees, vegetables and medicinal herbs. The locality has 15 district-level administrative units, including 1 city, 1 town and 13 districts, with 149 communes, 18 wards and 13 towns.

Phu Yen is a coastal province in the South Central region, covering an area of ​​over 5,000 km2 and with a population of over 876,000 people (in 2022). The province has 9 district-level administrative units and 110 commune-level administrative units (including 21 wards, 6 towns and 83 communes). The locality develops its economy based on its maritime advantages with the pillars of industry, tourism, high-tech agriculture, maritime transport and logistics.

The two localities connect and trade goods via National Highway 29. Recently, Dak Lak proposed the Prime Minister to consider and approve the investment policy to upgrade and renovate National Highway 29 connecting the two provinces, with a scale of 4 lanes, with a total investment of 10,000 billion VND.

The People's Committee of Bac Kan province is collecting voters' opinions from 108 communes on the plan. Merge Bac Kan with Thai Nguyen . The proposed name of the new province is Thai Nguyen. People agree or disagree and can express other opinions.

The province will post the voter list from April 11 to 19, and organize the collection of opinions from April 17 to 19. The time to summarize and report the results of the People's Committee at the commune level to the district level is before April 20, and the district level to the province is before April 21.

Bac Kan has a natural area of ​​4,859 km2 and a population of over 326,000 people. The province consists of 8 district-level administrative units, with 108 communes, wards and towns. It borders Cao Bang to the north; Lang Son to the east; Thai Nguyen to the south; and Tuyen Quang to the west. Bac Kan's total budget revenue in 2024 is about 930 billion VND.

Meanwhile, Thai Nguyen is located in the center of the Northern Midlands and Mountains region, with an area of ​​over 3,560 km2 and a population of over 1.3 million people from 8 ethnic groups. The province borders Bac Kan to the north; Vinh Phuc and Tuyen Quang to the west; Lang Son and Bac Giang to the east; and Hanoi to the south. Thai Nguyen has 3 cities, 6 districts with 178 communes, wards and towns; total budget revenue in 2024 is over 20,000 billion VND.

The merger of provinces and cities was carried out at the request of the Central Committee. At the 11th Central Conference of the 13th tenure which closed on April 12, the Central Executive Committee agreed to reduce the number of provincial-level administrative units nationwide from 63 to 34, including 28 provinces and 6 centrally-run cities.

Some merger options are being studied such as Da Nang and Quang Nam; Bac Giang and Bac Ninh; Hai Phong and Hai Duong; Lao Cai and Yen Bai; Quang Ngai and Kon Tum, Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau...