At the workshop (Photo: VNA)Can Tho (VNA) – The establishmentof a logistics centre in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho will make activecontributions to stable and sustainable economic development in the region,Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam said ata workshop held in the city on February 20.
The efficient operation of the centre will helpminimise input costs and increase the added value of the region’s stapleproducts, Namsaid.
Ho Thanh Phong, Rector of Hong BangInternational University in Ho ChiMinh City, said a research team from the universityhas conducted an evaluation of the logistics situation in Can Tho and the deltaover the past two years, pointing out the field’s strengths and weaknesses.
Through which, the team has set out somesolutions to improve the quality of logistics services, as well as proposed aset of criteria for evaluating the operational efficiency of logistics centresand designed a competitive logistics network, he added.
According to Nguyen Minh Toai, Director of themunicipal Department of Industry and Trade, the demand for transporting exportgoods in the Mekong Delta ranges from 17 to 18 million tonnes per year.However, in fact, about 70 percent of these export goods have to be transferredto big ports in the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and Cai Mep Portin southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, which makes the transportation costs ofbusinesses 10-40 percent higher.
Therefore, the development of logistics servicesand the establishment of a second-class logistics centre in Can Tho is anurgent requirement that also aligns with regional economic development, Toaisaid.
He added that the municipal People’s Committeehas agreed with the policy of building the second-class centre at Cai Cui port,in the Hung Phu industrial park in Tan Phu ward, Cai Rang district, on 242.2 ha.
With 13 cities and provincescovering over 4 million ha and home to a population of over 18 million, theMekong Delta plays a crucial role in the country’s socio-economic development.
The region contributes 40 percent to thenation’s agricultural production value, over 50 percent of rice output, 90percent of rice for exports, 65 percent of seafood output, and 70 percent offruit.
The gross regional domestic product (GRDP)growth reached 7.5 percent and the per capita GDP in 2018 was estimated at2,217 USD. The total state budget collection in the 2016-2018 period was over243.2 trillion VND (10.48 billion USD), contributing 18 percent to thecountry’s GDP. –VNA
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