Hanoi (VNA) - A series of measures have been proposed at a recent workshopin Hanoi, aiming to turn the capital city into a logistics centre of the nationin the future.

Expertssaid that it is necessary to devise specific policies and the Government’sdecision on the development of logistics services in Hanoi.

Accordingly, attention will be paid to developing urban logistics services in combinationwith building a smart city and promoting regional connection. Priority policiesrelated to land fund and tax incentives are also needed for developing logisticinfrastructure.

Participants said that barriers to the development of Hanoi's logistics industryare inadequate infrastructure; overlapping and unstable legal system formanaging logistics activities; as well as unprofessional human resources.

Nguyen Tuong, senior advisor of the Vietnam LogisticsAssociation (VLA), suggested researchon building service centres for gathering goods in suburban areas, then usingsmall trucks to transport goods into the inner city, saying that this can solvetraffic congestion and ensure safety in the inner city, especially in rush hours.

Hanoi’s river ports have not upheld their strength due to restriction on goods handlingequipment and limited boat clearance (Duong bridge).

Participantssaid it is necessary to continue studying the development of inland waterwaytransportation service in connection with those in the region.

According to the VLA, around 4,000 enterprises are involved in providing logisticsservices, of which, 1,300 enterprises are operating actively. Hanoi has about1,000 firms operating in this field.

Logistics service companies manly provide services related to transportation, warehouse,seaport, inland container depot, logistics services centres, cargo terminal,cargo handling, freight forwarding, shipping agent, customs agents, expressdelivery agents and other related services.

Covering an area of over 3,300 sq.m and with a population of over 8.2 millionpeople, Hanoi is one of the country’s leading localities in FDI attraction. Inthe first eight months of 2018, Hanoi lured 5.93 billion USD in FDI.

Along with the synchronous infrastructure system, Hanoi is also the leadinglocality in promoting regional economic connection, and is home to many domesticand foreign logistics service companies.

Withthese factors, Hanoi is qualified for developing into a logistics service centreof the country, Tuong affirmed.-VNA