Hanoi is set to usher in a new phase of development as the Capital Law 2026 takes effect on July 1, introducing an unprecedented set of special mechanisms and policies aimed at expanding the city's development space and reinforcing its role as Vietnam’s political-administrative centre and a key growth engine for the Red River Delta and the country.
More than two months after the National Assembly passed the law on April 23, the city has moved swiftly to complete the institutional, organisational and human resource preparations needed to ensure its immediate implementation.
Early preparations to ensure immediate enforcement
Unlike many previous laws that required lengthy periods for guiding documents to be issued, the Capital Law 2026 has been prepared for immediate enforcement following its adoption. The legislation grants Hanoi an extensive range of special mechanisms and stronger decentralisation, enabling the city to exercise greater autonomy in governance and development.
Shortly after the law was passed, the Standing Board of the Hanoi Party Committee issued a directive on its implementation, while the municipal People's Committee adopted plans to review legal documents, conduct public communication and training, and organise implementation with clearly defined tasks, timelines and responsibilities for each agency. The city also established a dedicated task force to oversee, monitor and inspect implementation to ensure both progress and quality in drafting the guiding documents.
The workload has been substantial. The law introduces new mechanisms covering organisational structure, finance and budget management, investment, planning, urban development, science and technology, culture, environment and talent attraction. To ensure these provisions can be applied immediately upon the law taking effect, Hanoi has simultaneously completed dozens of implementing resolutions and decisions.
Ahead of July 1, the municipal People's Council approved 59 resolutions to implement the law, including 45 adopted during its fourth session, creating a comprehensive policy framework that will take effect simultaneously with the Capital Law. At the same time, the municipal People's Committee issued implementing decisions within its authority, ensuring a complete legal basis for enforcement.
The resolutions adopted by the People's Council go beyond implementing guidance by translating the law into concrete policies on transit-oriented development (TOD), urban renewal and redevelopment, low-emission zones, land management, housing development, investment promotion, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transport, environmental protection and high-quality human resource development. These measures are expected to remove longstanding institutional bottlenecks and create new opportunities for Hanoi's future growth.
Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang said that while the Capital Law creates new development space and grants Hanoi special mechanisms for breakthrough progress, the resolutions of the People's Council and decisions of the People's Committee transform the law's objectives into practical governance and management tools.
The city's comprehensive preparations demonstrate its determination to minimise the gap between policymaking and enforcement, ensuring the law does not take effect without the necessary guidance or face delays in practical application.
Building a capable implementation workforce
City authorities have stressed that even the most progressive legislation cannot achieve its objectives without a thorough understanding among those responsible for implementing it. As a result, Hanoi launched an extensive programme of public communication, dissemination and training immediately after the law was passed.
According to Nguyen Cong Anh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Justice, communication efforts have been closely aligned with the dissemination of the Party and State's major policies on Hanoi's development in the new period.
The city has organised more than 250 dissemination conferences attended by over 50,000 participants, distributed more than 14,000 legal information materials, published over 1,560 articles on government agencies' websites and broadcast more than 1,000 radio programmes each week through the grassroots broadcasting system. Additional communication activities have included online competitions on the Capital Law, digital and social media campaigns, and outreach through legal experts and official presenters.
On June 27, Hanoi organised a citywide conference, featuring both in-person and online participation, to disseminate resolutions implementing the Capital Law to all 126 commune- and ward-level administrations, attracting more than 5,000 delegates.
These efforts demonstrate that Hanoi has prepared not only the necessary institutional framework but also the human resources required for effective implementation, particularly grassroots officials who will be responsible for delivering the law's policies to residents and businesses.
Although substantial work has been completed ahead of July 1, city leaders have repeatedly stressed that this marks only the beginning. Thang emphasised that issuing resolutions and decisions is not the final objective but merely the starting point. The effectiveness of the Capital Law, he said, will be measured not by the number of legal documents issued but by tangible improvements in governance and public administration, better services for people and businesses, faster administrative procedures, stronger investment attraction and higher economic growth.
The city has also made clear that all levels of government must act proactively without delay or shifting responsibilities.
As a result, July 1 marks not only the formal entry into force of the Capital Law 2026 but also the beginning of a new development chapter for Hanoi. Ultimately, the law's success will be judged not by the number of special mechanisms it introduces, but by tangible improvements in socio-economic development, a more favourable investment environment, more effective public administration and, above all, greater satisfaction among residents and businesses benefiting from its implementation./.
