Hanoi (VNA) – The Politburo's Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW introduces a new approach to reorganising development space based on functions, advantages and value chains, thereby enabling more efficient resource allocation and creating growth drivers with broader spillover effects.
Resolution No. 27 on regional development and the organisation of national development space in the new period places regional development as a means of organising national growth and a tool for reorganising development space, allocating resources and enhancing competitiveness. This takes on particular significance following the restructuring of administrative units, as the expanded scale of many localities creates better conditions for integrating urban, industrial, agricultural, maritime, border-gate and logistics spaces.
According to economist Dr Huynh Thanh Dien, a lecturer at Nguyen Tat Thanh University, although regional connectivity has long been highlighted, it has in practice remained largely organised along administrative boundaries.
A particularly important new feature of Resolution No. 27 is the shift from developing localities separately to viewing each region as an integrated ecosystem. Within this space, localities are assigned roles based on their functions, potential and advantages, while being connected through value chains, infrastructure, labour, data and economic corridors.
This approach also means that not every locality needs to develop every industry and sector or pursue the same economic structure.
From a local perspective, Le Trung Hieu, Deputy Director of the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance, said Resolution No. 27 is creating requirements for reorganising development space to maximise local strengths and strengthen linkages among localities.
Data from the first six months of 2026 show that the Red River Delta is developing a model based on three drivers – high-tech processing and manufacturing; logistics and connectivity infrastructure; and innovation and modern services. This also provides a basis for developing new growth poles with broader spillover effects across the region and the country.
Resolution No. 27 also identifies the completion of genuinely strong, substantive and effective mechanisms for regional coordination, regulation and resource mobilisation as a breakthrough. For inter-regional projects, the principle is that localities should jointly make decisions, contribute capital, assume responsibility and share benefits. Projects of strategic national importance must have a unified coordination mechanism and a single body responsible for implementation.
Dien said regional connectivity must first be designed through the Government's policy-making and target-setting approach. Policies, plans, investment programmes and development targets should be considered from an overall regional perspective before being translated into specific tasks for individual localities.
The principle of “joint contribution, joint responsibility and shared benefits” must also be backed by clear financial mechanisms covering contributions, revenue sharing, operating costs and responsibility for managing risks.
According to Dien, each major infrastructure project should be viewed as an “industrial development order”. From the preparation stage, it is necessary to identify technologies, equipment and processes in which domestic businesses can participate and gradually build mastery, while establishing a roadmap for increasing localisation rates in line with international commitments.
Bidding policies should also facilitate deeper participation by domestic businesses, rather than limiting them to low-value stages, he said, adding that networks linking large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, research institutes, universities and supporting-industry clusters should be developed along economic corridors.
This should be accompanied by codifying mechanisms for regional connectivity and developing common standards for planning, infrastructure, the environment and data, avoiding a situation in which different localities apply different approaches.
Resolution No. 27 therefore not only introduces a new approach to development space but also calls for changes in how resources are allocated, investment is organised and growth effectiveness is assessed./.
