An aerial view of Hải Phòng City. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The northern port city of Hải Phòng topped the national rankings in the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR INDEX) and the Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS) in 2025.

This marked the third time Hải Phòng has led the country in the PAR INDEX and the second consecutive year it has maintained the top position in both the PAR INDEX and SIPAS.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Hoàng Minh Cường said that over the years, the city has consistently identified administrative reform as a key task and a driving force for socio-economic development and improvements in its competitiveness.

A wide range of innovative measures have been implemented in a concerted manner, including the expansion of online public services, stronger digitalisation of records and administrative procedures, enhanced decentralisation and delegation of authority, increased accountability of agency heads, and stricter administrative discipline.

Maintaining the leading positions nationwide in the PAR INDEX and SIPAS in 2025 is expected to provide further momentum for Hải Phòng to continue accelerating administrative reforms in tandem with the building of digital administration and smart urban areas, while improving service quality for both residents and businesses, thereby contributing to rapid and sustainable socio-economic development in the new period, Cường said.

Despite numerous difficulties and challenges in 2025, particularly the merger of administrative units and the operation of the two-tier local administration model from July 1 with a heavy workload, high requirements and a short implementation timeline, the city still sustained strong growth momentum, recording a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate of 11.81 per cent.

Hải Phòng has continued to affirm its role as one of the country’s major growth engines and remains the only locality nationwide to maintain double-digit GRDP growth for 11 consecutive years.

According to the announced results, Hải Phòng’s PAR INDEX score in 2025 reached 95.37 per cent, the highest nationwide and 2.21 percentage points higher than the second-ranked locality. This was the second consecutive year and the third time within five years that the city secured the top position nationwide in the index.

The city also led the country in several important component indexes, including administrative procedure reform with a score of 99.92 per cent; institutional reform at 98.24 per cent; public finance reform at 98.94 per cent; and civil service regime reform at 96.33 per cent.

Meanwhile, Hải Phòng’s SIPAS score in 2025 reached 91.12 per cent, making it the only locality nationwide to score above 90 per cent and helping it retain the top position in the country.

Among the key criteria, public satisfaction with the development and implementation of policies reached 91.01 per cent, while satisfaction with the provision of public administrative services stood at 91.26 per cent, both ranking first nationwide.

Hải Phòng also topped various component criteria relating to the administration's accountability, the quality of policy implementation, access to public administrative services, administrative procedures, the performance of civil servants directly handling administrative matters, and the reception and settlement of citizens’ feedback and recommendations.

The results reflected the positive recognition and evaluation by residents and businesses of the quality of services provided by state administrative agencies in the city, while also affirming the effectiveness of efforts to promote administrative reform, digital transformation, public service responsibility, and the building of a modern, transparent and service-oriented administration. — VNA/VNS