Abandoned billion-VND headquarters in a poor commune
Based on people's feedback, in early November 2024, Lao Dong reporters went up the mountain to Nong Son district, Quang Nam to learn about the current situation of abandoned offices.
Here, the reporter witnessed the administrative headquarters of Que Phuoc commune, Nong Son district, spacious but abandoned, desolate, without a single person.
According to the reporter's observation, the office of the People's Committee of Que Phuoc commune is located next to the main road, with 3 rows of houses including: the 2-storey main building, the cultural and sports center hall and the one-stop department... with about 20 offices that are quite new, but are currently used by people as a warehouse for firewood and soft drink bottles!
“After the administrative unit merger, the Que Phuoc Commune People's Committee headquarters has been abandoned for more than 4 years and has only been used twice as a quarantine area for COVID-19 patients and a temporary shelter for people during the rainy and stormy season, the rest of the time it is abandoned. I find it very wasteful,” a local resident exclaimed.
This headquarters was put into use in 2018, with a construction cost of 4.9 billion VND. In February 2020, when Nong Son district merged Que Phuoc and Que Ninh communes into Ninh Phuoc commune, all administrative agencies moved to the new commune, leaving the Que Phuoc commune headquarters abandoned after only 2 years of use, causing a waste of public offices in this poor mountainous commune.
Mr. Mai Van Bay - Secretary of the Ninh Phuoc Commune Party Committee - admitted that Ninh Phuoc is a newly merged mountainous commune, the poverty rate is still high, people's lives are still difficult, and the terrain is complicated. The locality is also concerned about abandoned offices but has not found an effective way to use them.
Risk of continued office redundancy
According to Resolution No. 1241/NQ-UBTVQH15 of the National Assembly on the arrangement of district and commune-level administrative units of Quang Nam province, from January 1, 2025, Nong Son district will officially merge the entire natural area of 471.64 km2 and population of 35,438 people into Que Son district.
The policy of merging two districts has received high consensus among the government and people, however, the issue of arranging redundant headquarters is causing headaches for the locality and functional agencies.
“In Nong Son, in addition to the large-scale district People's Committee headquarters, there are also many headquarters of departments, offices, units, vertical agencies... expected to be redundant after the merger.
We are wondering, not yet able to imagine who will transfer it to, how to use it" - a representative of the Quang Nam Department of Finance admitted, it will take a long time to arrange the use of these offices.
According to Chairman of Nong Son District People's Committee Nguyen Van Hoa, for the district headquarters, if you want to exploit it, you must include it in the land use planning, adjust the general planning of Trung Phuoc town, register the list, adjust the land use unit, if you want to sell or auction it, you must wait for the province's approval...
The options considered such as handing over the offices to the local commune level or the Education sector are also not feasible, because the district-level offices are very grand and large-scale, if left for the communes to use, they will not be able to fully utilize their functions. Not to mention, the communes already have completed headquarters and cultural institutions.
The solution for units and businesses to rent is also not feasible due to regulations.
