This approach has helped resolve contradictions between procedures and reality, transforming reform pressure into new growth space.

At a provincial People’s Council session in late 2025, the head of Cao Bang’s government delivered some good news: budget revenue reached VND4,491 billion, up 77 percent year on year. Of this, revenue from import-export activities surged 144 percent. 

However, the atmosphere in the conference hall quickly turned sober when Le Hai Hoa, chair of the provincial People’s Committee, presented some figures and comparisons.

“Hai Phong’s budget revenue is VND190 trillion. Quang Ninh has for many years maintained revenue between VND85 trillion and VND100 trillion. The gap between Cao Bang, ranked 34th out of 34 cities/provinces after the merger, and more developed provinces remains large,” he said.

Provincial leaders assessed that this discrepancy stems not only from natural conditions or geography but also from the operational efficiency of the administrative apparatus. In practice, at certain times and in specific projects, multi-layered administrative processes have created delays, slowing investment progress.

A typical example is the disbursement of public investment capital and the implementation of national target programs. Although capital has been allocated, many projects face obstacles due to administrative procedures and prolonged site clearance. This situation demands an urgent change in management methods to remove institutional "bottlenecks."

Citing an investor in Hai Phong whose large-scale project expansion was resolved in just 1.5 days, or an educational complex completed in exactly one year, Le Hai Hoa asked: "Why can other provinces do it, while we have the funds but cannot spend them?"

The answer lies in the "intermediate layer." In Cao Bang, while provincial policies are drastic, administrative orders tend to lose momentum when passing through various departments and local governments. A fear of responsibility and roundabout document handling at the enforcement level have become invisible barriers. 

Recognizing this resistance, Cao Bang Party Secretary Phan Thang An has repeatedly emphasized the need to “continue tightening discipline and order within the Party,” viewing the struggle against stagnation and evasion not just as an administrative task but as a "measure of leadership capacity and the prestige of the Party organization." This is the "institutional bottleneck" that the locality must resolve to improve the investment environment.

Streamlining to accelerate

In this context, the Central Government's major policy on rearranging administrative units and streamlining the apparatus for efficiency arrived exactly when Cao Bang needed a strong push.

Cao Bang has embraced the two-tier local government model as a "golden opportunity" to resolve its own bottlenecks. The province recognized that this was not merely an administrative task, but a vital survival strategy for a breakthrough.

July 1, 2025, marked a historic milestone as Cao Bang officially transitioned to the two-tier local government model.

The operation report for December 2025 showed that the scale of this transformation was larger than initially imagined. Organizationally, the province reduced the number of department-level focal points from 21 to 16; the commune level was significantly reduced from 161 to 56 units (cutting 105 focal points).

Regarding personnel, this was the largest reorganization ever, with more than 12,600 cadres and civil servants reassigned. Simultaneously, the province resolved resignation and retirement policies for 720 redundant cases in just two months.

In terms of institutional economics, this solution shortens "transaction costs." By removing intermediate departments and merging communes, the distance a decision has to travel through is significantly reduced. Notably, the province boldly decentralized authority, allowing Heads of departments and Chairmen of Commune People's Committees to resolve 1,250 types of administrative procedures directly.

Output indicators

Initial concerns about potential disruption were dispelled by actual results. Data through late December 2025 showed that the new apparatus has been operating smoothly.

After the first three months, the rate of timely and early-resolved records across the province reached 98.8 percent. At the commune level, where the impact of merging was most direct, this rate reached 99.64 percent. These figures alleviated concerns that the grassroots apparatus might be "paralyzed" during the transition.

Crucially, the long-standing question of “having money but being unable to spend it” gradually found an answer. By removing intermediate layers, public investment capital flows have been unblocked at unprecedented speed. The impact of streamlining in Cao Bang is reflected in public investment disbursement.

As of December 31, 2025, the province’s disbursement rate had reached 96.4 percent. This placed Cao Bang among ministries and localities with the highest disbursement rates nationwide, alongside Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Finance.

Doan Bong