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 on development of Vietnam's seaports for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. The new point is that the plan is classified according to 5 groups of seaports, each geographical region, and the development goals of each group and plan. future investment plan, instead of 6 groups of ports according to the old plan. Each group has targets, 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.

15 national general 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, Tra Vinh. In which, the seaports of Thanh Hoa, Da Nang and Khanh Hoa are planned to become special seaports.

In addition, there are 6 local general seaports (class II) which are 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, the seaport planning is carried out with a strict sequence of procedures as prescribed in the Law on Planning and implemented synchronously with 5 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 railway, 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 gathering 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 there are railway lines 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 regions will be moved by rail to major ports instead of mostly using road as at present.

A container ship with a tonnage of more than 214,000 tons docked at Cai Mep International Port at the end of October 2020. Photo: Truong Ha.

The new plan focuses on developing key ports and gateway ports, gradually erasing small ports located in the mainland, close to urban areas unsuitable for development. From there, forming clusters of ports connecting with each other, 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 is no port of Cua Lo, Ha Tinh, goods in those provinces must go by road to Hai Phong or Da Nang. When developing a port cluster in Cua Lo, goods can be exported 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, 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. When transporting goods by sea, it will contribute to reducing transportation costs in general, logistics costs and reducing pressure on roads, increasing traffic safety. This is a suitable orientation for the seaport infrastructure, which is to increase the volume of transported goods by means of low-cost, high-volume transportation.

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

In addition, the previous seaport planning has been implemented for 7 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 5 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 a number of seaport areas. At the same time, the seaport planning and the connection plans between these modes of transport are not synchronized.

+ OTHER POST:

• Seaport investors more than 14,000 billion lack of capital(30.10.2021)
• Global shipping is disrupted again due to floods(29.10.2021)
• Shipping enterprises actively upgrade their fleets(29.10.2021)
• The world's third largest shipping company commits not to increase freight rates(29.10.2021)
• Troubleshooting maritime activities(29.10.2021)
• The creek is not clear, it is difficult for ships to dock at Phan Ri Cua fishing port(29.10.2021)