Information from the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, the province has submitted a report to the Ministry of Construction requesting appraisal and recognition of Quang Ninh as meeting the criteria of a type I urban area. This is a particularly important step in the context that the Central Government has a policy to establish Quang Ninh city in 2026.
According to the submission, based on a comprehensive review according to the criteria of Resolution No. 111/2025/UBTVQH15 of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Quang Ninh has currently achieved 13/15 standards of type I urban area. This result is formed from a detailed assessment process according to 3 major criteria groups, fairly fully reflecting the urban development picture of the province in terms of socio-economics, urbanization level and infrastructure quality.
In which, the group of criteria "position, role and conditions for socio-economic development" of Quang Ninh reached 5/6 standards, showing a solid foundation for development.
Quang Ninh owns a system of economic zones and functional zones of national and international stature such as Van Don, Mong Cai, Quang Yen areas along with prominent heritage and tourist centers. This meets the standards for the role of driving force for regional and national development.
In the past 3 years, Quang Ninh has not only maintained a GRDP growth rate higher than the national average but also continuously improved per capita income, reaching more than 81 million VND in 2025. Not receiving additional central budget balance continues to affirm the local financial autonomy capacity, an important criterion for a type I city.
However, in this group of criteria, FDI attraction in 2025 of the province is not in the top 10 leading localities in the country. This stems from the international context and objective impacts. Quang Ninh is continuing to improve with many specific solutions to improve the quality of growth and competitiveness in the coming period.
In the criterion of "urbanization level", Quang Ninh achieved 3/4 of the standards, notably with an urbanization rate of up to 81.23%, far exceeding the minimum requirement. The urban system is reorganized in a streamlined and efficient direction with 54 commune-level administrative units, including up to 30 wards.
For the group of criteria "infrastructure development level and urban space organization", Quang Ninh fully meets 5/5 standards. The regional and international connectivity transport infrastructure system with 3 major hubs including airports, international passenger ports, and deep-water seaports has created a superior advantage compared to many localities in the country.
Social infrastructure indicators also reached high levels, in which the number of beds, educational institutions, cultural and sports facilities all exceeded standards; the rate of solid waste treatment reached nearly 100%; the clean water supply system covered almost the entire urban population... These figures show that the quality of urban life in Quang Ninh has approached the high standards of developed urban areas.
Quang Ninh's proposal to be recognized as a type I urban area is of particular importance in the context that in early April 2026, the Politburo had concluded on the policy of establishing Quang Ninh city directly under the Central Government in 2026. This is also a necessary condition for Quang Ninh to complete the dossier for establishing a city directly under the Central Government, a goal that the Central Government has identified to implement in 2026.
