Decision No. 26/2022/UBTVQH15 Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13 dated May 25, 2016 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on urban classification

RESOLUTION

 Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13

dated May 25, 2016 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on urban classification 

THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 

On the basis of The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

On the basis of Law on Organization of the National Assembly No. 57/2014/QH13 has been amended and supplemented with some articles pursuant to Law No. 65/2020/QH14;

On the basis of Urban Planning Law No. 30/2009/QH12 has been amended and supplemented with some articles pursuant to Law No. 77/2015/QH13, Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 40/2019/QH14 and Law No. 61/2020/QH14;

RESOLUTION:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Decision No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13 dated May 25, 2016 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on urban classification

1. Market management agencies at all levels include: the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Market Management Business Unit under the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development; the Market Management Sub-department under the Department of Industry and Trade of provinces and centrally-administered cities; and the Market Management Team under the Market Management Sub-department.

"Article 2. Objectives and principles of urban classification

1. Urban classification aims to establish a basis for evaluating urban quality; organizing, arranging, and managing and developing the urban system, inner city, inner town, suburban areas, towns, and areas planned to be established as districts or wards; reflecting the true level of urban development and urbanization; serving as a basis for planning, construction, management, policy formulation for urban development; attracting investment, improving urban living quality and conditions.

2. Urban classification is carried out based on national urban and rural planning, provincial planning, urban planning, and urban development programs at various levels to manage urban development, ensuring suitability with each stage of economic and social development.

3. An urban area, an area planned to form an urban area, or an area planned to establish a district or ward that is urban-planned and constructed to meet the criteria and standards of a certain type of urban area shall be classified as an urban area and evaluated for the level of urban infrastructure development according to the regulations of the corresponding type of urban area.

4. Urban classification for areas planned to form urban areas, and evaluation of standards regarding the level of urban infrastructure development for areas planned to establish districts or wards is one of the bases for considering the establishment, merger, division, adjustment of administrative boundaries of urban areas, and rearrangement of administrative units. The scope of urban classification and evaluation of the level of urban infrastructure development must coincide with the scope of planned establishment or adjustment of administrative boundaries of urban areas.

5. Urban classification is applied regionally, based on special factors, and implemented through a point-based method. The points for urban classification are the total points achieved from the classification criteria."

2. Amendment and supplementation of Article 9 as follows:

"Article 9. Application of urban classification

1. The application of urban classification according to regions as specified in Appendix 4 of this Decision is implemented as follows:

a) For cities in the Red River Delta and Southeast regions, the criteria and standards for city classification shall be implemented according to the regulations for the respective city types;

b) For urban areas in the Northern Midland and Mountainous Region and the Central Highlands, the minimum standard of population size criteria is 60% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard of overall population density criteria is 50% of the prescribed level; other criteria are implemented according to the regulations applicable to the corresponding type of urban area;

c) For urban areas in the North Central Coast and South Central Coast Regions, the minimum standard of population size criteria is 80% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard of overall population density criteria is 70% of the prescribed level; other criteria are implemented according to the regulations applicable to the corresponding type of urban area;

d) For urban areas in the Mekong Delta Region, the minimum standard of population size criteria is 70% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard of overall population density criteria is 50% of the prescribed level; other criteria are implemented according to the regulations applicable to the corresponding type of urban area.

2. For urban areas with special characteristics, the evaluation of the standards in Table 1A, standard 3 in Table 1B, and standard 1 under Section II.1 of Table 5A in Appendix 1 of this Decision is implemented according to the regulations applicable to the corresponding type of urban area; the remaining classification criteria and standards are applied as follows:

a) For urban areas along the national border, the minimum standard of population size criteria and population density criteria is 50% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard of other criteria is 70% of the prescribed level of the corresponding type of urban area; b) For urban areas on islands, the minimum standard of population size criteria, population density criteria, non-agricultural labor ratio criteria, and group criteria related to economic and social structure and development level is 20% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard of criteria related to the development level of infrastructure and urban architecture and landscape is 50% of the prescribed level of the corresponding type of urban area;

c) For urban areas of Type III, Type IV, and Type V within the administrative units determined by competent authorities as mountainous or highland areas, the minimum standard of population size criteria and population density criteria is 50% of the prescribed level of the corresponding type of urban area; the minimum standard of other criteria is 70% of the prescribed level of the corresponding type of urban area;

d) For areas planned to form urban areas of Type V as the administrative center of a district located in an area with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, the minimum standard of criteria related to urban architecture and landscape in the development level of infrastructure and urban architecture and landscape criteria is 70% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard of other criteria is 50% of the prescribed level of the corresponding type of urban area;

đ) For areas planned to form urban areas and directly affiliated urban areas for preserving and promoting the unique value of ancient capitals and tangible cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO, the population density criteria will not be considered; the criteria related to urban architecture and landscape in the development level of infrastructure and urban architecture and landscape criteria will be implemented according to the regulations applicable to the corresponding type of urban area; the minimum standard of other criteria is 50% of the prescribed level of the corresponding type of urban area.

3. Only one of the provisions in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall be applied to evaluate the criteria and standards when classifying urban areas for specific urban areas and when the standards have not reached the minimum level as prescribed.

4. In cases where special requirements for territorial management, national sovereignty protection, and economic and social development need to be met, urban classification may be carried out after the competent authority decides on the establishment or adjustment of administrative boundaries of urban areas."

3. Amend and supplement Article 10 as follows:

"Article 10. Point calculation for urban classification

"Article 10. Scoring for urban classification"

1. The criteria for classifying urban areas are determined by specific standards and are scored according to the classification point framework set forth in Appendix 1 of this Resolution. The points of each criterion are the total points of the standards within that criterion. The maximum total points of all criteria is 100 points. Specifically as follows:

a) The criterion on location, function, role, structure, and level of socio-economic development includes eight standards; the minimum evaluation is 13.5 points, the maximum is 18 points;

b) The criterion on population size includes two standards: the total population size of the urban area and the population size of the inner city, central town area; the minimum evaluation is 6.0 points, the maximum is 8.0 points;

c) The criterion on population density includes two standards: the population density of the entire urban area and the population density calculated based on the construction land area of the inner city, central town, and town area; the minimum evaluation is 6.0 points, the maximum is 8.0 points;

d) The criterion on the ratio of non-agricultural labor force includes two standards: the ratio of non-agricultural labor force of the entire urban area and the ratio of non-agricultural labor force of the inner city, central town area; the minimum evaluation is 4.5 points, the maximum is 6.0 points;

e) The criterion on the level of development of infrastructure and urban architecture, landscape includes forty-nine standards; the minimum evaluation is 45 points, the maximum is 60 points.

2. The quota, allocation, and method of scoring points, as well as the method of collecting and calculating data for each standard of the urban classification criteria and the level of development of urban infrastructure are specified in Appendices 1, 2, and 3 of this Resolution.

3. The method of scoring points for each standard is defined as follows:

a) Data and information serving as the basis for determining the degree of compliance with the standard, if it reaches the maximum level, then the standard will be scored at the maximum points, if it reaches the minimum level, it will be scored at the minimum points, if it is between the maximum and minimum levels, it will be scored proportionally between the upper and lower limits, if it is below the minimum level specified, no points will be awarded, and the interpolation scoring method will not be applied to the assessment of the standard stipulated in Clause 3, Article 9 of this Resolution. In cases where the criterion stipulated in Point d, Clause 2, Article 9 of this Resolution is not considered, the minimum score will be given to the standards of that criterion;

b) For centrally-administered cities, the scores for the standards applicable to the inner city area as specified in Appendix 1 of this Resolution are determined based on the districts and areas expected to become districts;

c) In cases where the urban classification criteria stipulated in Clause 2, Article 9 of this Resolution are applied, if the standard has units measured as projects, facilities, or programs (collectively referred to as projects) and specifies a minimum of one project, then the minimum score will be given when there is one project; if the minimum is two or more projects, the number of projects used to calculate the minimum score will be reduced accordingly based on the ratio and rounded off but not less than one project.

4. An urban area is recognized as a certain type of urban area when the criteria reach the minimum points and the total points of the criteria reach 75 points or more.

4. Amending and supplementing Article 12 as follows:

"Article 12. Preparing and reviewing proposals for urban classification

1. The situations requiring the preparation of proposals for urban classification include:

a) Classifying urban areas based on the current status of cities, towns, and market towns;

b) Classifying urban areas for cities, towns, and market towns with planned administrative boundary adjustments that do not coincide with the current urban boundaries;

c) Classifying urban areas for areas expected to form urban areas in the future.

2. Responsibilities for preparing proposals for urban classification are as follows:

a) Provincial People's Committees organize the preparation of proposals for urban classification for special-class and Class I cities which are centrally-administered cities, to be submitted to the People's Councils at the same level for approval before sending them to the reviewing authority;

b) District People's Committees organize the preparation of proposals for urban classification for Class I cities which are provincial cities, cities under centrally-administered cities, Class II, Class III, and Class IV cities, to be submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for submission to the People's Councils at the same level for approval before sending them to the reviewing authority;

c) District People's Committees organize the preparation of proposals for urban classification for Class V cities to be submitted to the People's Councils at the same level for approval before sending them to the reviewing authority.

3. Proposals requesting recognition of urban areas meeting the urban classification criteria include:

a) The explanatory section of the proposal clearly states the necessity, legal basis, scope of the report; summarizes the historical formation and development process of the urban area; reports on the current investment and development of the urban area according to approved urban planning; evaluates the current development status and quality of urban infrastructure, compiles information and data according to the classification criteria and standards, and assesses the degree of compliance with urban classification requirements; summarizes the urban development program and plans to improve urban quality in subsequent stages; conclusions and recommendations;

b) The appendices accompanying the proposal include legal documents; opinions of specialized agencies under the Provincial People's Committee regarding the proposal as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 12 of this Resolution; tables and related data, and small-scale drawings (A3) stamped for confirmation including a regional relationship diagram (one copy), administrative boundary map of the urban area (one copy), current urban construction map and locations of ongoing projects (one copy), spatial development orientation diagram (one copy), short-term planning map (two copies showing land use planning and technical infrastructure planning); reports as stipulated in Point c, Clause 1, Article 13 of this Resolution for existing urban areas on the territory in cases where the proposal for special-class and Class I urban classification is to establish a centrally-administered city.

The data evaluating the standards of urban classification is the data calculated up to December 31 of the year immediately preceding the year the proposal is sent to the reviewing authority and provided, confirmed, or published by competent state authorities;

c) A video illustrating the current development status of the proposed classified urban area (approximately 20 minutes).

4. Responsibilities for reviewing proposals are as follows:

a) The Ministry of Construction organizes the review of the urban classification project for special-class cities, Class I, Class II, Class III, and Class IV cities; the Minister of Construction establishes an inter-ministerial review board; takes the lead and coordinates with relevant central agencies and social-professional organizations to conduct surveys to serve the review process and organize the review of the project;

b) The specialized agency under the provincial People's Committee, according to the assignment of the provincial People's Committee, establishes a review board for the urban classification project for Class V cities; reviews and checks the dossier of the urban classification project for projects established by the district-level People's Committee; takes the lead and coordinates with relevant departments, sectors, and specialized agencies of ministries and sectors to conduct surveys to serve the review process and organize the review of the project;

c) The reviewing agency is responsible for organizing the review of the project in accordance with the contents stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article within fifteen days from the date of receiving all necessary documents for the review of the project; submits it to the authorized person to decide on urban classification within fifteen days from the date of completing the review results and the urban classification project dossier in accordance with the review results;

5. The dossier for submitting the project for review includes the proposal of the People's Committee, the resolution of the People's Council at the same level, and the urban classification project dossier established in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3 of this Article;

6. The content of the project review includes:

a) Legal basis, procedures, and processes for establishing the project;

b) Compliance with approved urban planning, city planning, and urban development programs;

c) Review, survey, and inspection of the current urban development status, comparing information and data according to the criteria and standards for urban classification in the project content with the levels prescribed in this Resolution;

d) Evaluation of the degree of compliance with urban classification criteria;

7. The authorized person to classify cities as stipulated in Article 11 of this Resolution is responsible for examining and deciding to recognize the city type within fifteen days from the date of receiving the proposal, the urban classification project, and the review report;

8. The cost of classifying cities shall be guaranteed by the state budget and mobilized from other legitimate sources.";

5. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

"Article 13. Establishing and reviewing reports on reviewing urban classification criteria, evaluating the level of urban infrastructure development

1. Cases for establishing reports include:

a) A review report on urban classification criteria is carried out for cities that have been recognized as a city type and are expected to expand the inner city or inner town to establish districts or wards without adjusting the administrative boundaries of the entire city;

b) An evaluation report on the level of urban infrastructure development is carried out for areas expected to establish districts or wards;

c) A review report on urban classification criteria is carried out for cities that have been recognized as a city type, except for areas expected to establish districts or wards, within the scope of special-class cities and Class I cities intended to establish centrally-administered cities;

2. Responsibilities for establishing reports are defined as follows:

a) The provincial People's Committee organizes the establishment of a review report on urban classification criteria for special-class cities and Class I centrally-administered cities, and an evaluation report on the level of urban infrastructure development for areas expected to establish districts when the scope involves multiple district-level administrative units, to be added to the urban classification project dossier or submitted to the reviewing agency;

b) The district-level People's Committee organizes the establishment of a review report on urban classification criteria for Class I provincial cities, Class I centrally-administered cities, Class II, Class III, Class IV, and Class V cities, to be submitted to the provincial People's Committee for addition to the urban classification project dossier or submission to the reviewing agency;

c) The district-level People's Committee organizes the establishment of an evaluation report on the level of urban infrastructure development for areas expected to establish districts or wards, except in cases specified in point a of this clause, to be submitted to the provincial People's Committee for submission to the reviewing agency;

d) The specialized agency under the provincial People's Committee conducts a review and inspection of the report dossier before submission to the provincial People's Committee;

3. Contents of the review report on urban classification criteria include:

a) Explanation stating the reasons and necessity, legal basis, scope of establishing the review report on urban classification criteria, the compatibility of proposals to expand the inner city or inner town to establish districts or wards with the overall urban planning already approved by the competent authority; a summary of the current urban development status, implementation of investment in urban infrastructure construction in areas expected to expand to meet urban classification criteria; the degree of compliance with criteria and standards compared to the recognized urban classification results; a comprehensive evaluation of urban classification according to Appendix 1 of this Resolution; conclusions and recommendations;

b) Appendices accompanying the review report include legal documents; opinions of the specialized agency under the provincial People's Committee on the report as stipulated in point b of Clause 2 of this Article; tables and related data, and a small-scale map (A3) stamped with confirmation including the administrative boundary map of the city clearly showing the expanded inner town area (one copy), the current urban construction map and the location of ongoing projects (one copy), general urban planning maps clearly showing spatial development orientation and land use for inner city and inner town development;

4. Contents of the evaluation report on the level of urban infrastructure development in areas expected to establish districts or wards include:

a) The explanatory statement clearly sets forth the necessity, legal basis, scope of preparing the report, the suitability of the proposal to establish new districts and wards with the overall urban planning, district zoning plan, or detailed planning that has been approved by the competent authority; summarizes the implementation of investment in infrastructure development in areas expected to form districts and wards according to the district zoning plan or detailed planning approved by the competent authority; compiles an assessment of the criteria as stipulated in Appendix 2 of this Resolution; concludes and makes recommendations.

b) The accompanying documents to the evaluation report include legal documents; the opinions of specialized agencies under the provincial People's Committee on the report as specified in point c, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Resolution; tables and figures related to data and a reduced-size drawing (A3) stamped for confirmation including the administrative boundary map of the proposed district or ward (one copy), the current urban construction status map and the location of urban infrastructure projects, residential units, and ongoing projects in the area expected to form districts and wards (one copy), maps of the overall urban planning, district zoning plan, or detailed planning showing the spatial development orientation and land use in the area expected to form new districts and wards.

5. The data used for review and evaluation in the reports prescribed in Clause 3 and Clause 4 of this Article shall be the data up to December 31 of the preceding year relative to the year of implementing the report and provided, confirmed, or announced by the competent state agency.

6. The responsibility for reviewing the reports is as follows:

a) The Ministry of Construction shall take the lead in organizing surveys; coordinate with relevant central ministries and agencies to obtain unified opinions on the results of reviewing the criteria for classifying cities for special-class, Class I, Class II, Class III, and Class IV cities as stipulated in point a, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Resolution and the report evaluating the level of urban infrastructure development in the area expected to form districts and wards as stipulated in point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Resolution;

b) The Ministry of Construction shall be responsible for organizing the review of the reports in accordance with the contents prescribed in Clause 8 of this Article within 15 days from the date of receiving all documents for the report review process; submit to the authorized person as prescribed in Clause 9 of this Article for consideration and decision within 15 days from the date the report on reviewing the criteria for classifying cities and the report on evaluating the level of urban infrastructure development have been completed based on the review results.

7. The documents for submitting the report review process include the submission letter of the provincial People's Committee and the report prescribed in Clause 3 or Clause 4 of this Article.

8. The content of the report review includes:

a) For the report on reviewing the criteria for classifying cities, the content of the report review shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 6, Article 12 of this Resolution;

b) For the report on evaluating the level of urban infrastructure development in the area expected to form districts and wards, the review shall be conducted on specific contents including legal basis; suitability with the overall urban planning, district zoning plan, or detailed planning, urban development program that has been approved by the competent authority; the current status of urban infrastructure development compared with the standards prescribed in Appendix 2 of this Resolution.

9. The authority to recognize the results of reviewing the criteria for classifying cities and recognizing the achievement of the standards for the level of urban infrastructure development is as follows:

a) The Prime Minister shall issue a document recognizing the results of reviewing the criteria for classifying cities for special-class, Class I, and Class II cities;

b) The Minister of Construction shall issue a document recognizing the results of reviewing the criteria for classifying cities for Class III and Class IV cities; decide to recognize the area expected to form districts and wards as achieving the standards for the level of urban infrastructure development;

c) The authorized person as prescribed in points a and b of this clause shall consider and issue documents and decisions recognizing the results within 30 days from the date of receipt of the report review and the completed report documents based on the review results. In case the authorized person does not recognize the review results or finds factors that may significantly affect the fulfillment of the criteria for classifying cities, the Ministry of Construction shall issue a document detailing the reasons and notify the provincial People's Committee that submitted the report.

10. The cost of preparing the report shall be guaranteed by the state budget and mobilized from other legitimate sources.

6. Repeal Article 14.

7. Replace Appendix 1, Appendix 2, and Appendix 3 issued together with Resolution No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13 with Appendix 1, Appendix 2, and Appendix 3 and supplement Appendix 4 issued together with this Resolution.

Article 2. Effective Date

This Resolution takes effect from January 1, 2023.

Article 3. Transitional Provisions

1. Decisions on classifying cities that were issued before the effective date of this Resolution continue to be valid until the city is reclassified according to the law.

2. Cities, towns, and townships that have received decisions recognizing their city classification before the effective date of this Resolution but whose classification scope does not coincide with the administrative boundaries of the established unit shall organize the reclassification of cities in accordance with this Resolution.

3. In cases where the city classification project was submitted to the review agency before the effective date of this Resolution, the criteria and standards for classifying cities shall continue to be applied, and the review and recognition of the city classification shall be carried out according to Resolution No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13.

4. The provincial People's Committee shall be responsible for reviewing, preparing, adjusting, and organizing the implementation of the urban development program for special-class, Class I, Class II, and Class III cities recognized before the effective date of this Resolution and related plans and programs, ensuring that by 2025, the standards of the criteria for classifying cities regarding the level of urban infrastructure and urban landscape architecture development are completed, with emphasis on urban infrastructure for healthcare, education, training, and cultural facilities. /

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This Resolution was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Session XV, specialized legal meeting in September 2022, on September 21, 2022.