According to the Department of Home Affairs, prior to their dissolution, 10 districts, towns, and cities sealed and packed nearly 12,000 meters of documents. Meanwhile, 129 communes, wards, and townships catalogued nearly 6,000 meters, and regional offices handed over more than 5,000 meters of records. Under the current plan, documents from former communes are entrusted to the new communes post-merger for safekeeping. District-level and agency-level materials are to be received by the Department of Home Affairs. However, as of now, the province lacks a central archival repository capable of accommodating all the records from the 10 former district-level entities.

Hà Thị Thanh Thủy, Director of the provincial Historical Archives Center under the Department of Home Affairs, stated: “To date, we have only received 1,163 boxes, equivalent to 145 meters of permanently archived documents from the former districts of Mường Nhé, Mường Chà, Tủa Chùa, and Điện Biên Đông. The remaining district-level materials are being temporarily stored at designated locations arranged by each former district. These sites are required to meet basic safety standards for preservation, fire prevention, and protection against weather. Each district has allocated 5-6 rooms within their former headquarters, now under the management of the newly established communes.”

Archiving is not simply “storing in a warehouse.” It is a rigorous process carried out by the Archives Center in close coordination with district-level Internal Affairs offices and technical agencies. Together, they review and assess the materials to ensure accurate, complete, and compliant reception.

The process adheres strictly to the State archival procedures, including complete handover reports, inventories, and detailed file lists. Special priority is given to records created during the early stages of district development, an invaluable source of historical, political, and social significance.

From June 24 to 28, the Department of Home Affairs mobilized three working teams to verify inventories, confirm volumes, and oversee the sealing and handover of records at the district, town, and city levels.

Personally inspecting and signing off on the sealed packages, Thủy explained: “All documents with retention periods under 70 years, along with uncategorized files from People’s Councils and People’s Committees of the former districts, have been packed in bags or metal containers. Each is clearly labeled with content information. They are currently under temporary storage at central communes of the former districts.”

The documented 12,106 meters of district-level records include 8,395 boxes (approx. 1,049 meters) of files with less than 70-year retention periods and 11,057 bags of uncategorized files (approx. 11,153 meters). The new commune authorities are responsible for securing these materials until the province issues an official handover plan to the Archives Center.

Meanwhile, at the provincial Historical Archives Center, staff are working day and night, including weekends, to sort through and organize the permanent records received from the four former districts. After reception, these documents undergo technical processing and digitization.

“Technical processing involves classification, arrangement, indexing, value assessment, and preservation in accordance with national archival standards. This ensures long-term conservation and quick access when needed,” added Thủy. “In parallel, we are implementing a document digitization plan aligned with our available infrastructure, human resources, and annual budget.”