According to the Project on establishing Quang Ninh city directly under the Central Government based on the administrative boundaries of the province, Quang Ninh province basically meets the conditions, reaching 7/7 standards of a city directly under the Central Government according to the provisions of the Law on Organization of Local Government and Resolution No. 112/2025/UBTVQH15.
In which, meeting 6 standards, including: Population size; Natural area; Percentage of wards to the total number of commune-level administrative units; Urbanization rate; Position and function determined in the plan or orientation approved by the competent authority as a national or regional-level integrated center on economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, health, science and technology; domestic and international traffic and exchange hubs, playing a role in promoting socio-economic development of the region or the whole country; Socio-economic structure and level of development.
For the 6th standard in the set of 7 standards (which has been recognized as a type I urban area), through reviewing the current situation and comparing with current regulations, Quang Ninh province has met this criterion; currently the province is completing procedures to submit to the Ministry of Construction for recognition.
Specifically, for standard 1 on population size: The Law stipulates a population size of 2,500,000 people or more, but applies the provisions of Clause 1, Article 6 of Resolution No. 112/2025/UBTVQH15 (urban administrative units with national borders on land have a minimum level of population size standard equal to 50%). Accordingly, the population size standard applied to Quang Ninh province is from 1,250,000 people or more, while currently the province has a population size of 1,519,647 people.
Standard 2 on natural area: According to regulations, centrally-run cities must have a natural area of 2,500 km2 or more, while Quang Ninh province currently has 6,231.30 km2 of natural area.
Standard 3 on the ratio of wards to the total number of commune-level administrative units: Centrally-run cities must achieve a ratio of 30% or more; currently Quang Ninh has 30 wards out of a total of 54 commune-level administrative units.
Standard 4 on urbanization rate: According to regulations, centrally-run cities must reach 45% or more, while Quang Ninh's urbanization rate reaches 84.55%.
Standard 5 stipulates the position and functions identified in the planning or orientation approved by competent authorities as a national or regional-level integrated center in economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, health, science and technology; a domestic and international traffic and exchange hub; playing a role in promoting socio-economic development of the region or the whole country. Currently, Quang Ninh is oriented to be built and developed into a typical province of the country in all aspects; a model rich, beautiful, civilized, modern province; improving the all-round life of the people; a growth pole of the Northern region; one of the dynamic and comprehensive development centers; an international tourism center, a marine economic center; the gateway to the Northern Key Economic Region and the whole country; a sustainable urban development model according to green growth, adapting to climate change and sea level rise; a solid defense area for national defense and security and a frontline for cooperation and international economic competition.
Standard 6 on being recognized as a type I urban area: Comparing with the regulations, through preliminary review and assessment, Quang Ninh province achieved 14/15 criteria, while type I urban area only requires a minimum of 12/15 criteria.
Standard 7 on socio-economic development structure and level: Based on regulations, Quang Ninh meets 5/5 criteria. In which, Quang Ninh is one of the localities that balances its budget and makes a large contribution to the state budget. In 2025, the total budget revenue of the province reached 85,052 billion VND, equal to 154% of the central government's estimate, affirming its position as one of the localities contributing the largest budget in the country.
