Becoming the central city with the largest area
On July 1, 2025, when the two-level government officially comes into operation, the new Da Nang city - based on the merger of Quang Nam and Da Nang, will enter a development stage with a completely new stature.
From the place where they separated in 1997 to promote their unique advantages, up to now, "coming home together" is a return not to repeat the old model, but to create a new model, with higher integration, more efficiency, and more sustainability.
As stated by Secretary of the City Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang at the conference to collect comments from former key leaders of the two localities on the draft Political Report submitted to the 23rd Congress of the Da Nang City Party Committee, term 2025-2030, organized by the Steering Committee for the arrangement and consolidation of administrative units of Quang Nam province and Da Nang city: "The new Da Nang will have extremely favorable conditions". With an area of nearly 12,000km2 and a population of over 3 million people, Da Nang has become the largest city among the 6 centrally-run cities, with enough resources and room to create new development breakthroughs.
That new development space is not just a combination of boundaries and population. That is the connection between the sea and the mountains; between the industrial center, seaports, airports, tourism, heritage, border areas... Da Nang has 2 airports, 3 seaports, East-West economic corridor; Hoi An ancient town, Chu Lai industrial park, strategic mountainous districts connecting to the Western Truong Son region. That is a rare structure among large urban areas, opening up potential for multi-sectoral, multi-regional, multi-layered development, from digital economy to industry, high-tech agriculture, culture, education and eco-tourism.
The need for solidarity and consensus
But for those potentials to not only be on the map, it is important to have a new planning mindset and action, in line with the new model.
Former Secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee Tran Tho noted: "The planning of the two localities must be soon connected". It is impossible to develop if the planning is not interconnected and does not create development axes with enough influence.
Border solidarity is a necessary condition, but the sufficient condition is solidarity, from thinking, resources, to mechanisms and people's hearts. The new city named Da Nang will develop sustainably when maintaining the solidarity and consensus between the people of the two localities. When sharing a common vision, towards a common development future, the "New Da Nang" will become a unified, strong and unique entity.
Da Nang - Quang Nam "come home together" but do not have to return to the past, nor extend or expand the existing city, but to move forward together with consensus on vision, resonance on resources and unity in action to build a modern, multi-centric, multi-identity city, harmonious development between the sea, plains and mountains.
Therefore, in addition to having to operate a new apparatus smoothly, the city leaders need to arouse the common will, connect each locality, each people, and work towards one goal: Development for people, for the land and for the future of the country. That is the destination and profound spirit of the mergers, not only with Quang Nam - Da Nang.
