On 11 September, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee issued a resolution to maintain the city’s current 168 sub‑district administrative units—comprising wards, communes and a special zone—without any mergers. The decision follows an assessment that the two‑tier local government model is operating smoothly, with continuous and coordinated administration across state management, economic‑social development, administrative reform, digital transformation and security functions.
The Committee highlighted that 54 units do not meet the statutory standards for natural area or population size. Specifically, 52 units host 30,000 or more residents but fall short on area criteria—48 wards are under 5.5 km² and four communes under 30 km². Conversely, Thạnh An commune and the Côn Đảo special zone have populations below the norm yet cover about 75 km² and are geographically isolated. These entities were created on 1 July 2025, prior to the enactment of Resolution 112/2025, and are therefore treated as transitional cases rather than subjects for re‑evaluation.
Keeping the existing boundaries is intended to stabilise administrative structures, public‑asset management, finance‑accounting systems and information databases, while sparing residents and businesses the burden of updating addresses across multiple records. The Committee also called for strengthening the effectiveness and autonomy of grassroots governments, addressing operational bottlenecks, and applying central directives such as Party Politburo Resolution 09‑NQ/TW and the Urban Development Law. The city aims to resolve most identified difficulties by the end of 2026, alongside targets for a two‑percent economic growth, increased public investment, urban planning upgrades, scientific‑technological advancement and digitalisation.