What’s new in the seaport planning until 2030?

The seaport system is planned in sync with railways and roads, bringing into play the advantages of the maritime country to promote the circulation of import and export goods.

The Government has just approved the master plan for developing Vietnam’s seaports from 2021 to 2030, with a vision to 2050. The new point is that the program is classified according to 5 groups of seaports, each geographical region, and the development goals of each group and future investment plan, instead of 6 groups of ports as in the old method. Each group has targets, a vision, and future investment projects.

In terms of ratings, the new master plan has two specially ranked ports as international gateways and transshipment ports, namely Hai Phong seaport and Ba Ria – Vung Tau seaport. Van Phong Port (Khanh Hoa) which was specially ranked according to the old plan, is now not in this group.

Fifteen general national seaports, regional hubs (grade I) are Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa. , Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Can Tho, Long An, and Tra Vinh. The seaports of Thanh Hoa, Da Nang, and Khanh Hoa are planned to become special seaports.

In addition, there are six local general seaports (class II): Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Hau Giang, and Dong Thap seaports. These are ports serving the socio-economic development of the region and locality.

The remaining 13 specialized seaports (class III) mainly serve the activities of enterprises.

According to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang, for the first time, seaport planning is carried out with a strict sequence of procedures as prescribed in the Law on Planning and synchronously implemented with five traffic plans, namely roads. , railways, inland waterways, maritime, and aviation. Therefore, each mode has a clearly defined role on each transport corridor and ensures synchronization in the connection.

In the planning of 5 areas, the seaport is prioritized for location selection. The modes of waterway, road, and rail, depending on the volume of cargo through the port, the type of cargo, the distance, and the ability to mobilize resources, will be connected to the role of consolidating and releasing goods for seaports. Inland waterway ports in seaport waters are included in the planning to remove traffic congestion connecting to seaports.

Specifically, the seaport planning determines that railway lines are connecting to special-class and grade-I ports. Along with that is a system of national highways and local roads connecting smaller ports. Accordingly, goods from different regions will be moved by rail to essential ports instead of primarily using the route.

The new planning focuses on developing key and gateway ports, gradually erasing small ports located in the mainland, close to urban areas unsuitable for development. They are forming clusters of ports connecting, connecting with waterways, roads, and railways.

The planning focuses on developing two areas Lach Huyen, Nam Do Son (Hai Phong), and Cai Mep (Ba Ria – Vung Tau), to become international transshipment ports. Goods are transported directly to Europe and America by large ships instead of focusing on transshipment abroad as before.

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang, if there are no Cua Lo and Ha Tinh port, goods in those provinces must go by road to Hai Phong or Da Nang. When developing a port cluster in Cua Lo, It can export goods to foreign countries without the cost of road transportation. Similarly, goods imported from China will arrive at Quang Ninh port, and from there, ship goods along the sea route from North to South, replacing the current road transport of goods running across the country.

“Our country has a long coastline, so why not build a seaport, bring goods to the sea, but have to go by road. We have a premise to develop a seaport system, thereby forming coastal transport routes, which will reduce logistics costs compared to road transport,” said Mr. Sang.

Deputy Minister Sang said that, in general, the cost of transportation (compared to per ton of goods) by sea is lower than the cost of transporting cars. Transporting goods by sea will reduce transportation costs and logistics costs, relieve pressure on roads, and increase traffic safety. This is a proper orientation for the seaport infrastructure, which is to increase the volume of goods transported by the mode of transport in large volumes and at a low cost.

Regarding investment capital, the seaport planning determines that the seaport system by 2030 needs about VND 313,000 billion, including the construction of ports for cargo handling services, which are mobilized mainly outside the budget and capital enterprises and other lawful sources of capital. State budget capital is concentrated for public maritime infrastructure; key areas, creating spillover effects and attracting investment.

According to the Ministry of Transport leader, the state only invests in infrastructure, creating initial capital. The remaining 95% of the money will attract investment in other economic parts.

In addition, the previous seaport planning has been implemented for seven years, revealing some shortcomings such as not being synchronized with the local construction planning and other industries. Compared to the time of planning, up to now, the transport infrastructure of all five fields of road, maritime, aviation, inland waterway, and railway has had many changes, along with the development of coastal cities, tourist areas, and urban areas, causing congestion in freight transport activities connecting to several seaport areas. At the same time, the seaport planning and the connection plans between these modes of transport are not synchronized.

(Source: VnExpress)

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