Hundreds of offices are abandoned
Statistics of Thanh Hoa province show that after the merger of agencies, units and localities, up to now, there are more than 500 public offices and real estate in the area that are no longer in use, mainly commune-level headquarters, schools, medical stations and village cultural houses. Although it has been directed to handle it many times, only a few headquarters have been rearranged, while most of them are still empty and degraded.
In Thanh Hoa City, on Le Loi Boulevard, a series of old headquarters of agencies such as: Thanh Hoa Radio and Television Station, Thanh Hoa City State Treasury, Thanh Hoa City Social Insurance... have been closed for many years. Other routes such as Tran Phu, Phan Chu Trinh, Ham Rong ward have many old headquarters that are abandoned, causing waste of land resources.
Nghe An is also facing a similar situation, with hundreds of offices left vacant after the merger of administrative units.
In Quang Binh, the situation of abandoned public offices is common. For example, the headquarters of the People's Committee of Quang Tho Ward (Ba Don Town) was invested with nearly 15 billion VND, started construction in early 2022, but has been unfinished and abandoned for more than a year. The cause is believed to be problems in land procedures, leading to the project being stalled, causing serious waste. The "golden" land plot of more than 800m2 is located in front of the headquarters of the Quang Binh Provincial Party Committee, planned for commercial services and trees, but has been abandoned for more than 10 years, spoiling the urban beauty.
Many public offices in Quang Tri province, especially in "golden land" locations in the center of Dong Ha city, have been abandoned for many years, causing waste and losing the urban beauty. Some headquarters have an area of up to 2,000m2, located in prime locations but have not been handled due to waiting for " overall arrangement". In Trieu Phong district, a series of abandoned and seriously degraded public offices have caused public outrage.
Stop building new headquarters to avoid waste
Recently, Do Luong district (Nghe An) has temporarily suspended the District Party Committee - People's Bloc Office House project, with a total investment of more than 70 billion VND. The project was expected to build 6 upper floors, 1 basement with a floor area of over 6,300m2, but has been temporarily suspended.
In Con Cuong district, the District Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and mass organizations Administrative Center project has also been suspended. This project has a total investment of 110 billion VND, planned on an area of over 3 hectares, including many important items.
On February 25, 2025, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued a document requesting all localities in the province to temporarily suspend the construction and repair of district-level headquarters to review and re-evaluate actual needs. This Directive aims to seriously implement the policy of thrift and combating waste according to Conclusion No. 126-KL/TW of the Politburo.
Handling abandoned public offices is facing many difficulties, due to cumbersome legal regulations on conversion of functions, liquidation or auction of public assets.
According to economist Tran Hoang Hai (HCMC), to thoroughly resolve this situation, localities need to review and make a specific list of surplus headquarters, assess the current status to have a suitable handling plan; Converting the functions of some headquarters to serve public purposes such as cultural, medical, educational centers or supporting startups; Auction or lease of unused headquarters, ensuring publicity, transparency and avoiding loss of State assets; Adjusting legal regulations on handling public assets in the direction of simplifying procedures, helping liquidation and conversion to take place more smoothly.
Effective handling of surplus public offices not only helps save budget and improve the efficiency of public asset use but also contributes to improving the urban appearance, making the most of land resources for socio-economic development.
