On July 18, 2025, the Government issued Resolution No. 66.1/2025/NQ-CP to address obstacles regarding subdivision planning after the merger of provinces and cities. With respect to the new provisions in Resolution No. 66.1/2025/NQ-CP, ATA Legal Services has published a detailed update at: “RESOLUTION NO. 66.1/2025/NQ-CP: ALLOWING THE FORMULATION AND ADJUSTMENT OF SUBDIVISION PLANNING CONCURRENTLY WITH PROVINCIAL PLANNING OR GENERAL URBAN PLANNING.”
On August 28, 2025, the Government continued to promulgate Resolution No. 66.2/2025/NQ-CP providing for the handling of difficulties and obstacles in the adjustment of national master plans, regional plans, and provincial plans for the 2021–2030 period, which were decided or approved prior to July 1, 2025, in the course of arranging administrative units and organizing two-tier local government, during the period prior to the promulgation of the amended Law on Planning (“Resolution 66.2”).
1. Subjects and principles of adjustment
a. Subjects of adjustment: plans affected by the arrangement of provinces/cities, organization of two-tier local government, or serving the objective of achieving double-digit growth in the 2026–2030 period, including:
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National master plans;
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Regional plans (six socio-economic regions of Vietnam); and
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Plans of 34 provinces/cities.
b. Principles for preparing adjusted plans:
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No preparation, appraisal, or approval of tasks for adjusted planning;
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No requirement to prepare or appraise the strategic environmental assessment report of the plans;
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No appraisal of adjustments to the national overall master plan;
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Allow concurrent adjustments to different plans.
2. Shortened procedures for adjusting types of plans
Agencies assigned to prepare adjusted plans shall carry out the following tasks when making adjustments to plans, including:
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Decide on the contents requiring adjustment;
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Prepare cost estimates;
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Organize appraisal and approval of cost estimates for the adjusted plan;
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Finalize dossiers of the adjusted plan;
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Seek opinions from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, ministries, and provincial People’s Committees;
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Incorporate, explain, and finalize the dossiers of the adjusted plan based on comments from the above agencies, and submit to the Government for consideration and approval prior to reporting to the National Assembly for decision.
It can be seen that Resolution 66.2 has shortened the procedures for adjusting types of plans compared to the 2017 Law on Planning, specifically:
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No requirement to obtain approval in principle for plan adjustment; the assigned agency may proceed directly;
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Elimination of the step of approving planning tasks; the planning adjustment agency is entitled to decide on the contents of the adjustment;
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Allowing the planning adjustment agency to self-appraise and approve cost estimates for the adjustment and bear legal responsibility;
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The consultation period for relevant agencies is shortened from 30 days to only 10–20 days.
In general, the new provisions not only shorten the time and procedures but also facilitate the prompt implementation of plan adjustments, creating favorable conditions for enterprises to implement or propose projects.
3. Organization of implementation
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Ministry of Finance: prepare adjustments to the national overall master plan on the basis of the approved orientations and policies for adjustment; and regional plans for the 2021–2030 period based on existing plans for this period.
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Ministry of Agriculture and Environment: finalize dossiers of adjustments to the national land use plan for the 2021–2030 period; review and update the national marine spatial plan for this period.
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Provincial People’s Committees: prepare adjustments to provincial plans based on existing plans for the 2021–2030 period, consistent with the new administrative boundaries.
Resolution shall take effect from August 28, 2025 until the amended Law on Planning takes effect but not later than February 28, 2027.
For national sector plans and provincial plans of localities not subject to the merger of provincial-level administrative units that have been permitted to adjust under Article 54 of the Law on Planning prior to August 28, 2025:
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In cases where requests for opinions have been submitted and dossiers of adjusted plans finalized: the appraisal and submission for approval of the adjusted plans shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on Planning;
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In cases where requests for opinions have not yet been submitted: the implementation shall comply with Resolution 66.2.
Comment: