Urgent handling of surplus headquarters: Transfer, lease, and auction

Hundreds of former government office buildings in Nghe An province are awaiting a solution as authorities grapple with their surplus status after administrative mergers. The province is exploring a multi-pronged approach, including transferring the buildings to commune-level governments for local use, handing them over to the provincial Land Fund Development Center for leasing and auction, or other disposal methods.

In Dai Dong commune, for instance, the merger of eight former communes and one town has left eight office buildings vacant. One such building, the former Thanh Tuong commune office, built in 2018 with a two-story structure and 16 offices, is now unused after becoming the commune police office post-merger. The commune plans to transfer it to a local village for community use, though the fate of the 16 offices remains uncertain. Another former commune office, Thanh Dong, has been vacant for nearly a year, with locals suggesting that auctioning the property and using the funds for village cultural houses would be more practical, though its specific function makes it difficult to sell.

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If the state allows auctioning and can sell it, using that money to build a village cultural house would be more reasonable, but with the function of a commune office, it is very difficult to arrange for other purposes, so it will be very difficult for someone to buy.

Beyond commune-level buildings, several district-level offices, including those for the old Thanh Chuong district's prosecutor's office, court, and other judicial bodies, are also vacant. The prosecutor's office building, a recently completed three-story structure, has been empty since the area's merger. In Hung Nguyen commune, formed from five former communes and towns, some old offices have been repurposed for schools or leased out. The provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism's surplus headquarters is also slated for auction. The situation highlights a significant challenge in managing public assets efficiently after administrative restructuring.

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Tinubu has done his bit