The Ministry of Transport (the Ministry) has assigned the Maritime Bureau of Vietnam to carry a research on the project of checking and adjusting seaport system development plan to 2020 with orientation to 2030. Vietnam Logistics Review had a discussion with Mr.Nguyen Nhat – Head of the Maritime Bureau about the issue.
The Ministry has host a meeting about the important project. What targets and contents are being focused?
First, the duty of checking and adjusting “Vietnam Seaport System Development Plan” to 2020, orientation to 2030 (called “the Plan” hereafter) is carried out in the time when there have been big changes in economic development both in the country and in the world.
We are assigned by the Government and the Ministry to put forward solutions to carry out the Plan to improve the efficiency of seaport investment and development. Therefore, the targets, demands and the research scope of the Plan include checking and adjusting the Plan approved in the Decision no.2190/QĐ-TTg dated December 24th, 2009 (not making a new plan). We will not work on environmental issues for they have been separated into another project with contents and budget approved by the Ministry in the Decision no.2479/QĐ-BGTVT dated November 1st, 2011 which has been carrying out under the guidance of the Vietnam Maritime Bureau.
In contents, the Project will focus on the following main contents:
Evaluating the results in carrying out the approved Plan (including tasks of moving ports), existing difficulties and issues in management work.
Re-estimating shipments through the Vietnam port system, through sea port group from region to region, in accordance to periods to 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 with consideration of changes in economic situation in the country and in the world.
Checking and adjusting the approved contents, and suggesting management solutions to improve the efficiency of investment and development the sea ports in Vietnam.
The contents above are closely related, and they are all main the targets of the Project. However, we think the content no.2 should be the focus of the research since this is the issue which is most directly affected from the economic situation in the country and in the world (the reason for the necessity of the project). In addition, the need for re-estimating the need of the markets (through the shipment through ports) is an important premise for the consideration and adjustment of the contents of Plan in the next step.
Will the Plan of checking and adjusting the targets feasible? What do we base on to believe the Plan will solve the existing problems as scattered investments with short vision?
We believe it is the clue of the research that a number of solutions should be proposed to improve the efficiency of sea port investments and development in Vietnam.
First, in seaport classification, we are going to have identification in legal concepts of sea ports and in land water ports, and water area of seaports to be the basis for the announcement of the list of sea ports (a correction for the difference in the list of seaports in the Decision no.16/QĐ-TTg dated November 28th, 2008 and in the list of seaports in the Plan in the Decision no.2190/QĐ-TTg dated December 24th, 2009).
The seaport classification is based on the function of a particular port in the Vietnam seaport system. There will be 3 types: national general ports are main ports in the system which include international gateway ports (type IA) and regional hub ports (type I); local ports (type II) and specialized ports (type III).
In each port there are many areas, each with berths of different functions and sizes which generally supplement one another.
Second, in term of seaport management and exploitation, our duty is to carry out a research of forming a management agency, which is powerful enough to be in charge of the coordination in management of investment, development and activities of seaports. The model of “port authority” with operating mechanism suitable both for international practices and for Vietnam conditions may be applied in experiment.
At the same time, particular mechanisms for leasing seaport infrastructures which have been built by national budget (including ODA funded ones) will be established in accordance with economic situation and conditions in Vietnam and with distinctive features of a particular port.
Can you clarify the management work in the progress of carrying out the Plan?
Managing the implementation of a plan is no less important than making a feasible plan with long vision. These are two sides of a matter.
The solution to the consequence, besides observing the current plan of dividing in to functional areas, is to establish measures to restrict investments in small ports (especially specialized ones). This is not only to avoid waste of materials but also to improve exploitation capability of the ports and the efficiency of investment in them as well.
At the same time, there should be mechanisms to cooperate with local areas in planning and adjusting plans of dividing functional zones to areas after-port with orientation for reserving land fund for after-port logistics hubs. This is an important factor which improves through-port ability and service quality not only for port themselves but also for the whole regional transport system.
How about the matter of logistics in the process of researching the Plan?
It can be said that most ports in the Vietnam seaport system have not been designed for the loading and unloading for specialized vessels. And those located outside HCMC are designed for bulk cargo only, not have been equipped for loading/ unloading containers. There have been no maritime services that connect ports in Vietnam to those in Europe or the U.S. In addition, airports in the country have been in short of appropriate loading/unloading equipments and in short of appropriate investments in new warehouses in the areas of airports or ports…
Right in the Southern area, where there has been a highly-developing economy in the past 10 years, the inadequacy in planning and investment has led to cargo blockage in HCMC. The main reason is due to inconsistent planning in some regions.
The distance between approved infrastructure projects and implementing projects has added more challenges to the logistics sectors. Speed of infrastructure development in Vietnam is much slower than in a neighbor country: China. Slow shipping and slow supply chain have been blamed for the slow-down of the logistics in particular and of the economy in general.
To boost the development of Vietnam logistics there should be many groups of solutions. In the Plan, we have solved the problem of investing and developing transport infrastructures serving logistics services; proposing solutions for transport infrastructure management, and for controlling transport and services serving the logistics of Vietnam.
Thank you, sir.
