THE GOVERNMENT

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of regulation

This Decree prescribes the classification of urban centers and urban management levels.

Article 2.- Aims of the classification of urban centers and determination of urban management levels

The classification of urban centers and determination of urban management levels aim to lay the foundation for:

1. Organizing, arranging and developing the urban system throughout the country;

2. Decentralizing urban management;

3. Working out, considering and approving urban construction plannings;

4. Formulating a system of legal documents, criteria, policies and mechanisms for management of urban development.

Article 3.- Urban centers and basic factors for classifying urban centers

1. Urban centers include cities, provincial towns and district townships established under decisions of competent State agencies.

2. The basic factors for classifying urban centers include:

a/ The function of being general centers or specialized centers, and the role of boosting the socio-economic development of the whole country or a certain territorial area;

b/ The non-agricultural labor represents at least 65% of the total labor force;

c/ The infrastructures in service of population�s activities must be at least 70% up to the standards and norms prescribed for each type of urban centers;

d/ The population size must be at least of 4,000 people;

e/ The population density conforms to the size, nature and characteristics of each type of urban centers.

3. The urban center classification criteria, which aim to concretize the factors prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, shall be applicable to inner cities, inner provincial and district townships.

Article 4.- Classification of urban centers and urban management levels

1. Urban centers are classified into 6 grades, namely: special-grade, grade-I, grade-II, grade-III, grade-IV and grade-V urban centers.

2. Urban management levels include:

a/ Centrally-run cities;

b/ Provincially-run cities; provincial towns or centrally-run cities� towns;

c/ District townships.

Article 5.- Founding of new urban centers and classification of newly founded urban centers

1. To be-founded urban centers must meet the following conditions:

a/ Having the basic factors for classifying urban centers as prescribed in Article 3 of this Decree;

b/ Having the general plannings on urban construction approved by competent State agencies.

2. The People�s Committee of a province or centrally-run city shall organize the compilation of dossier on founding a new urban center, which is composed of the plan for separation, merger, dissolution, or readjustment of administrative boundaries, of urban centers, which is related to the founding of the new urban center and approved by the People�s Council of the province or centrally-run city, then submit it to the competent State agency for decision.

3. The recognition of newly founded urban centers shall be effected after the decisions on founding of new urban centers are issued by competent State management agencies.

Article 6.- Division of inner cities, inner towns and suburban and outlying areas

Cities are divided into inner cities and outlying areas (hereinafter referred to as inner cities and suburbs for short). Provincial towns are divided into inner towns and outlying areas (hereinafter referred to as inner towns and outskirts for short). District townships have no outlying areas.

Article 7.- Functions and size of suburbs and outskirts

1. Suburbs and outskirts have the following functions:

a/ Situating key technical infrastructure projects, population quarters, sanitation and environmental protection works; production, service, medical, training and scientific research establishments and other special establishments which cannot be located in inner cities and inner towns.

b/ Situating convalescent establishments; sight-seeing sites and tourist resorts; greenery belts and forest parks for environmental protection and ecological balance;

c/ Reserving land for urban expansion and development.

2. Size of suburbs or outskirts shall be determined on the following bases:

a/ Positions and characteristics of urban centers;

b/ Population size of inner cities or inner towns;

c/ Development levels of communications infrastructure linking inner cities or inner towns with their vicinities;

d/ Links between inner cities or inner towns and neighboring areas;

e/ Historical characteristics and natural conditions of each locality;

f/ Rational organization of urban administrative management units;

g/ Development requirements of functions of suburbs or town outskirts in support of the development of inner cities or inner towns according to the urban construction plannings approved by competent State agencies.

Chapter II

CLASSIFICATION OF URBAN CENTERS

Article 8.- Special-grade urban centers

Special-grade urban centers must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Being the national capital or an urban center with the function as a political, economic, cultural, scientific-technical, training, tourist and service center, a traffic hub, and a domestic and international exchange center, and playing the role of boosting the socio-economic development of the whole country;

2. The non-agricultural labor represents 90% of the total labor force or higher;

3. Having an infrastructure built basically synchronously and completely;

4. Having a population of 1.5 million or more;

Article 9.- Grade-I urban centers

Grade-I urban centers must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Being an urban center with the function as a political, economic, cultural, scientific-technical, tourist and service center, a traffic hub, and a domestic and international exchange center, and playing the role of boosting the socio-economic development of an inter-provincial region or the whole country;

2. The non-agricultural labor represents 85% the total labor force or higher;

3. Having an infrastructure built synchronously and completely in many aspects;

4. Having a population of 500,000 or more;

Article 10.- Grade-II urban centers

Grade-II urban centers must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Being an urban center with the function as a political, economic, cultural, scientific-technical, tourist and service center, a traffic hub and an exchange center of a province, inter-provincial region or in the whole country, and playing the role of boosting the socio-economic development of an inter-provincial region or the whole country in several domains;

2. The non-agricultural labor represents 80% of the total labor force or higher;

3. Having an infrastructure built in many sectors and becoming synchronous and complete;

4. Having a population of 250,000 or more;

Article 11.- Grade-III urban centers

Grade-III urban centers must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Being an urban center with the function as a political, economic, cultural, scientific-technical and service center, a traffic hub and an exchange center of a province or inter-provincial region, and playing the role of boosting the socio-economic development of a province or an inter-provincial region in several domains;

2. The non-agricultural labor represents 75% the total labor force or higher;

3. Having an infrastructure built synchronously and completely in each specific sector;

4. Having a population of 100,000 or more;

Article 12.- Grade-IV urban centers

Grade-IV urban centers must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Being an urban center with the function as a general or specialized center in political, economic, cultural, scientific-technical and service domains, a traffic hub and an exchange center of a province, and playing the role of boosting the socio-economic development of a province or a region within a province;

2. The non-agricultural labor represents 70% of the total labor force or higher;

3. Having an infrastructure, which has been or is synchronously and completely built in each specific sector;

4. Having a population of 50,000 or more;

Article 13.- Grade-V urban centers

Grade-V urban centers must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Being an urban center with the function as a general or specialized center in political, economic, cultural and service domains, and playing the role of boosting the socio-economic development of a district or a cluster of communes;

2. The non-agricultural labor represents 65% of the total labor force or higher;

3. Having an infrastructure, which has been or is currently built but not yet synchronous and complete;

4. Having a population of 4,000 or more;

Article 14.- Urban classification criteria applicable to special cases (for a number of grade-III, grade-IV and grade-V urban centers)

1. For urban centers in mountainous regions, highland, deep-lying and remote areas and islands, the criteria prescribed for each grade of urban centers may be lower but at least equal to 70% of the criteria prescribed in Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of this Decree.

2. For urban centers with functions as vacation, tourist and convalescent places, and those exclusively for scientific research and training purposes, the criteria on permanently-residing population size may be lower but at least equal to 70% of the prescribed level. Particularly, the criteria on average population density applicable to vacation, tourist and convalescent urban centers may be lower but at least equal to 50% of the levels prescribed in Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of this Decree.

Article 15.- Competence to decide on the recognition of urban centers� grades

1. The Government shall decide on the recognition of special-grade urban centers at the proposals of the Construction Minister and the People�s Committees of the centrally-run cities.

2. The Prime Minister shall decide on the recognition of urban centers of grade I and grade II at the proposals of the Construction Minister and the People�s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities.

3. The Construction Minister shall decide on the recognition of urban centers of grade III and grade IV at the proposals of the People�s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities.

4. The People�s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities shall decide on the recognition of urban centers of grade V at the proposals of the district People�s Committees after approving the construction planning and the urban development plans for residential areas or communes, where district townships are proposed to be founded.

Chapter III

URBAN MANAGEMENT LEVELS

Article 16.- Bases for determining urban management levels

Bases for determining urban management levels include:

1. According to the urban classification, as follows:

a/ The centrally-run cities must be urban centers of special grade or grade I;

b/ The provincially-run cities must be urban centers of grade II or grade III;

c/ The provincial towns or the centrally-run cities� towns must be urban centers of grade III or grade IV;

d/ The district townships must be urban centers of grade IV or grade V.

2. Requirements of the organization of the State administrative management by territories.

3. The overall planning for socio-economic development and the overall planning for urban development of the whole country and the general planning for urban construction already ratified by the competent State agencies.

Article 17.- Decision on urban management levels

The decision on urban management levels shall be made in compliance with the provisions of Clause 8, Article 2 of the Law on Organization of the National Assembly and Clause 1, Article 16 of the Law on Organization of the Government.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 18.- Implementation effect

This Decree replaces Decision No.132/HDBT of May 5, 1990 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) and takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 19.- Organization of implementation

1. The Construction Ministry, the Government Commission for Organization and Personnel shall have to guide the implementation of this Decree.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, have to organize the implementation of this Decree.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI