The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration has just proposed to the Ministry of Transport to allow inland waterway vehicles with VR-SI level to operate on the Cai Mep - Thi Vai seaport route.

If this proposal is approved, it will shorten the distance by more than 40km, reduce more than 6 hours of train travel, and increase the exploitation capacity of container ships by one layer.

According to calculations by businesses, this option will reduce about 20% of waterway logistics costs compared to traditional routes.

In the Northern region, the Department also proposed allowing VR-SI vehicles to run along the coast, on the Van Uc estuary - Lach Huyen port route, to replace the traditional transport route through Hai Phong's inner city rivers and canals, which are hindered by bridge clearance.

With the coastal VR-SI train option, the distance will be shortened by about 30km and the train travel time will be reduced by about 4-5 hours, increasing the exploitation capacity and allowing for an additional layer of containers to be loaded. This will reduce about 20% of the cost of waterway logistics compared to the traditional route.

Also related to policies to promote waterway transport, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration said that the Administration has advised the Ministry of Transport to focus on implementing solutions to upgrade services, procedures, taxes and fees, and reduce and simplify administrative procedures to support waterway transport businesses between Vietnam and Cambodia.

At the same time, it is recommended that localities resolve existing problems and difficulties in customs procedures, customs inspection, plant quarantine and working hours at international waterway border gates. Therefore, container cargo through the route alone has increased by an average of 20% per year.

This result contributes to increasing the volume of goods transported by inland waterways, reaching 315.7 million tons in the first 7 months of 2024, an increase of 12.6% over the same period in 2023.

Of which, container transport by waterway on Corridor 1, Hai Phong - Bac Ninh route reached 35 trips/week, more than 10 times higher than in 2018, the first year of opening the route; Corridor 2, Quang Ninh - Hai Phong - Ninh Binh route, deployed container transport from 2024, up to now reached 4 trips/week, barge size 36 Teus.