These communes were merged under Resolution 819 of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement of communal administrative units.

Most of the abandoned buildings were built or repaired recently, at the cost of billions of VND.

In Thach Ha district, three communes of Thach Tan, Thach Lam and Thach Huong were merged to form the new commune of Tan Lam Huong. After the merger, the new commune's administrative center is the office building of Thach Tan commune, and the offices of Thach Lam and Thach Huong communes are not being used.

The office building of former Thach Huong commune authorities was renovated recently but it has been left unused.

Vice Chairman of Tan Lam Huong Commune (former Chairman of Thach Huong commune) Nguyen Dinh Kieu said that the People's Committee of Thach Huong commune had four halls built in 2000, 2008, and 2017.

“In 2017-early 2019, over VND8 billion from the state budget was used to build the administrative center. This office is still in good condition because it has been in use for only two years,” Mr. Kieu said.

In Duc Tho district, the three communes of Duc Thanh, Duc Binh, Duc Thinh were merged and renamed Thanh Binh Thinh commune. After the merger, two commune offices were left unused, of which the office of Duc Thanh Commune was put into use in 2006. Two years ago, a number of items were rebuilt and renovated.

The office of Duc Thanh commune (former) was recently renovated at a cost of over VND4 billion.

A former official of Duc Thanh commune said in 2019 the commune was recognized to meet the criteria of new rural area. To earn this title, the commune had to build a cultural house with a budget of about VND2 billion.

The total cost for the reconstruction of the office is about VND4 billion. The commune owes about VND10 billion for the construction of some public works to meet the standards of the new rural area.

The former commune leader also admitted that the abandonment of the office was a waste.

Some offices have begun to degrade and become storage for rubbish, or a place for drug users.

Not to worry?

Duc Tho district is the one with the highest number of merged communes in the country. After the merger, there are 12 unused commune offices. However, Mr. Vo Cong Ham, former Party Secretary of Duc Tho District People's, is confident that these abandoned commune offices will be resolved soon in the future.

“Dealing with unused offices is not an overnight job. This is not a problem to worry about because the district has learned experience from the previous merger of villages, from 243 villages to 155 villages. So far, 88 public works no longer used have been sold and the money has been used for public purposes,” Mr. Ham said.

“Regarding the 12 redundant communal offices, some works can be used as centers of community activities and some can be sold. You can see it is a waste now, but we have to accept that reality temporarily for reaching the long term benefit,"Mr. Ham said.

Tran Anh Quan, head of the Department of Price and Public Property Management under the Ha Tinh Provincial Department of Finance, said that there will be a plan for the abandoned commune offices in the near future. Some commune offices will be sold and some will be used.

Some photos of abandoned commune offices in Loc Ha and Duc Tho districts.

The office building of former Thach Huong commune authorities

The administrative center of Thach Huong commune with many new buildings are now abandoned

The office of former Thach Huong commune was recently renovated at a cost of VND8 billion

The office of Duc Thanh commune (former) was recently renovated at a cost of over VND4 billion.

Some unused commune office buildings in the districts of Loc Ha and Duc Tho.

The office buildings of former Duc La and Binh Loc communes.

Thien Luong