Ba Ria-Vung Tau strives to become regional logistics services centre

Vung Tau Sea Entry has been planned as an international sea gateway in the southern region of Vietnam and also a centre of maritime lines of Vietna

With the Thi Vai River over 21 km long, the province has great potential for ship operation. Moreover, Vung Tau Sea Entry has been planned as an international sea gateway in the southern region of Vietnam and also a centre of maritime lines of Vietnam and the world as well.

There are major advantages for the development of ports and navigation services that are not found in other localities. Year by year, the port system in the province has been developed and expanded strongly, meeting the economic development of the locality as well as the country in the context of the regional and global integration.

Under the plan to develop Port No. 5, the port system in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province would be developed into the gateway for the country’s southern economic hub. The development of the sea port system in Ba Ria-Vung Tau will also play an important role in relocating sea ports in the inner districts of Ho Chi Minh City, which will help the southern metropolis ease traffic jams and mitigate environment pollution. Realizing the advantages, the province has poured major investments into the development of the local sea port system with modern facilities and large scale meeting regional standards. Currently, the province has 21 sea ports with total capacity of around 60 million tonnes per year, of which three are deep-water ports which have received many international vessels of over 100,000 tonnes. Most are located in Cai Mep-Thi Vai area. Such advantages are rare in other localities. Port throughput hit around 31 million tonnes in 2009, and 45 million tonnes in 2010. Ba Ria-Vung Tau province also reported the high flow of tourists travelling by sea. According to economist Vo Dai Luoc, the province’s port system plays the most important role in Vietnam, as local ports can handle international big vessels and link with the port systems of the southern province of Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City, forming a unified port system which connect localities with dynamic economic hubs and the rice granary of the Mekong Delta region, as well as attractive eco-tourism sites.

Especially, with the specially-used port system, key industries of the province, including petroleum, oil and gas, ship building, and petroleum services have developed well and are striving to be more powerful in the regional market. Mr Tran Khanh Sinh, Director of Tan Cang Cai Mep Deep-water Port, a leading port services provider in Vietnam, has also realized the potential when the port was put into operation which has helped Ba Ria-Vung Tau improve its competitiveness and attraction. The opening of SP-PSA container port and Tan Cang Cai Mep deepwater port has contributed much to local economic development over the past time as well as affirmed the role of Vietnam as a leading hub of deep-water ports in the world arena, especially in the context of global integration. Through the ports, goods have been transported from Vietnam to other countries and territories worldwide, including the US and Europe. The development of the port system has also contributed much to the economic growth of the province, raising the local service rate to 30 per cent of GDP, and likely to 37 per cent in the next five years thanks to strong development of other services. Notably, International Container Depot (ICD) services are also a big cash earner for the province.

Moreover, the development of the deep-water port system has helped improve the locality’s competitiveness and made it an attractive investment destination in the country. Many leading sea port service providers in the world such as Hutchison Port Holding (HongKong – China), PSA (Singapore), and SSA (the US) have poured large investments into the province. With the higher flow of foreign investment, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has continuously remained in the list of top ten investment destinations; the development of the deep-water port system has also helped the province develop sustainably and more actively.

Deep-water ports are the advantage of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. This potential was acknowledged when, on December 24, 2009, the Prime Minister approved a detailed plan on the development of the national sea port system by 2020, a vision for 2030; under which the port system in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province would be developed into the national aggregate port system and an international gateway with the planning level I A. The PM decision has speeded up the development of logistics services in the province, hoping to become a logistics centre of the region.

After the visit to Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in early August of 2010 to survey the provincial port system on Thi Vai River, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asserted the potential and said that the port system would be important to the development of the southern economic hub of the country and would bring higher economic growth to the province than other localities. The prime minister urged the province to develop further and pour more investment into the deep-water port system, especially Cai Mep Thi Vai international deepwater port, to tap the potential and to turn it into the port centre of the country, making great contribution to the social-economic development of the province and the country. – VCCI

Tags: vietnam logistics, Vung Tau Sea Entry

Posted by VBN on Jun 17 2011. Filed under Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry