“Greening” Vietnam’s seaports

It is expected that after 2030, the “green port” criterion in the planning, investment, construction, and operation of seaports in Vietnam will be applied compulsorily. Tan Cang – Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City is the first port in Vietnam to win the title of Green Port of the APEC Port Service Network Council.

Services related to the transport of passengers and goods at seaports are transporting about 20% of global waste to the sea. The busier the port, the higher the risk of pollution in those ports, creating a negative impact on the environment.

Therefore, the construction and “greening” of seaports in the world in general and in Vietnam, in particular, will help reduce emissions in the seaport area, increase the economic efficiency of port financial exploitation and ensure health for the citizen.

It is forecasted that by 2050, the greenhouse gas emissions of shipping activities will increase by up to 50% compared to 2018, despite energy efficiency measures adopted due to projected transport demand expected to continue to grow. In particular, Asia and Africa are forecast to have the most substantial emissions growth due to a solid increase in port traffic and minimal pollution reduction measures.

The mandatory “green port” criterion will be applied from 2030. Based on the approval of the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Maritime Administration (Ministry of Transport) has just issued a plan to implement the Green Port Development Project in Vietnam. According to the roadmap in the Scheme, from 2021-2022, the authorities will focus on developing and promulgating basic standards and “green port” criteria. From 2023, the “green port” model at some Vietnamese seaports will begin to be piloted and evaluated. From 2023 to 2025, the work of researching and proposing amendments to relevant regulations

Ms. Van (Saigon Newport Corporation) said that those criteria were “concretized” through the following activities: Replacing diesel lifting equipment with electric equipment (saving 1.5 – 2 million USD in fuel fee/year), increasing water transport with a carrying capacity of 3,000 Teus at the same time (replacing about 2,000 container trucks), applying electronic vouchers helps reduce the time for cars to wait at the port gate from 13 minutes to 6 minutes, eliminating consumption of paper documents at the port is about 30,000 – 50,000 sheets/day, planting trees along the piers and roads.

However, there are still difficulties in “greening” seaports due to the limited investment in infrastructure for environmental protection, prevention, and response to incidents in maritime activities at seaports, due to limited requirements ask for significant funding.

(Source: baochinhphu)