The information is stated in Official Dispatch No. 1168/TTr-UBND of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee sent to the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on the results of reviewing the plan for arranging commune-level administrative units in the area.
According to the report, there are 3 out of a total of 168 wards, communes, and special zones proposing arrangement plans, including Khanh Hoi ward, Xom Chieu ward, and Long Son commune.
Proposal to merge 3 wards in the old District 4
Xom Chieu Ward People's Committee has a natural area of 1.94km2 (not meeting the prescribed standards), a population of 53,067 people, and a density of about 27,354 people/km2.
At the conference to review and evaluate the operation of the locality, the People's Committee of Xom Chieu ward proposed to merge Khanh Hoi ward, Vinh Hoi ward and Xom Chieu ward into a new administrative unit.
According to local authorities, this plan aims to ensure the continuity of urban space, while also being suitable for the development orientation of the Saigon riverside area.
Similarly, Khanh Hoi ward has an area of 1.06km2 (not meeting the prescribed standards), a population of 74,214 people, and a density of about 70,013 people/km2.
This ward proposes 2 options. The first option is to merge Khanh Hoi, Vinh Hoi and Xom Chieu into a new ward.
The second option is to merge the above 3 wards with another adjacent administrative unit to ensure criteria for area and expand development space.
However, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee believes that if Khanh Hoi, Vinh Hoi and Xom Chieu are only merged, the new unit will have an area of about 4.18km2, still not meeting the minimum standard of 5.5km2 according to Resolution 112/2025/UBTVQH15.
In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee believes that Khanh Hoi and Xom Chieu wards have not yet consulted or exchanged opinions with adjacent localities on the proposed plan.
The two wards have also not comprehensively assessed the irrationalities arising after one year of operating the 2-level local government model to serve as a basis for proposing adjustments.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, among 165 commune-level administrative units proposing to maintain the status quo, 46 wards have not met the area standards. However, these localities have specifically assessed the operation process and believe that maintaining the status quo does not cause irrationalities.
Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has not agreed with the merger plan proposed by Khanh Hoi and Xom Chieu wards, and at the same time proposed to temporarily maintain the existing administrative units.
Long Son commune wants to merge with Tan Hai ward
Another case is Long Son commune. This is a unit that meets the standards for natural area with 56.5km2, but does not meet the standards for population size, with 24,684 people.
On August 13, the Standing Committee of the Long Son Commune Party Committee agreed to study 3 options for arranging administrative units and proposed to choose the option of merging Long Son with Tan Hai ward to form a new administrative unit.
However, this plan did not receive consensus from relevant localities.
On August 17, the Standing Committee of the Long Son Commune Party Committee sent a document to the Standing Committee of the Tan Hai Ward Party Committee requesting consideration of the merger plan.
On August 20, Tan Hai ward had a written reply, in which it agreed to continue to maintain the stability of the administrative unit of Tan Hai ward. Thus, Tan Hai ward does not agree with the merger proposal of Long Son commune.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also believes that the report of Long Son commune has only stopped at evaluating and analyzing 3 arrangement options, and has not fully selected and completed a specific option.
On the other hand, the merger plan of Long Son and Tan Hai has not been agreed upon between localities, is not complete and has not proven the urgency of adjustment.
Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed to temporarily maintain Long Son commune and Tan Hai ward, and not to adjust the administrative boundaries between the two localities.
