Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The development of seaports is to be prioritisedover the next three decades to meet increasing demand in shipping services,according to Nguyen Xuan Sang, director of Vietnam Maritime Administrationunder the Ministry of Transport.

Infrastructure feeding into the seaport was also being planned, includinginland waterways and road and railway systems, which would also play a role incollecting and delivering goods into the seaport system, according to Sang.

Plans were compiled to provide a comprehensive picture of the transportationindustry in the next 10 years.

Sang said that this would help ensure the connectivity of different modes oftransport while fully utilising the advantages afforded to each region.

The plan will be the first time that inland container depots and ports servinginland waterway vehicles would be included in the planning.

Temporary ports will also be considered in areas with favourable naturalconditions such as Quang Ninh, the Southeast region, and the Mekong RiverDelta.

The seaport planning would also incorporate industry 4.0 technology in theseaport construction and management and be applied to develop green seaports andpromote energy savings and the efficient use of coastal resources.

During the past 10 years, the volume of cargo transported through seaports in Vietnamgrew more than 11 percent per year.

Vietnam is targeting economic growth of seven per cent per year in the 2021-30period.

It has been forecast that the volume of cargo transported through the seaportsystem would increase by 1.6-2.1 times by 2030 and 4.1-4.8 times by 2050.

It was estimated that Vietnam would need around 300-320 trillion VND to developthe seaport system by 2030, he said, adding that developing the seaport systemwould help Vietnam become an important link in the global value chain.

Sang also said that the investment from the State budget would focus ondeveloping major seaport infrastructure but policies to attract privateinvestment would also be on the agenda.

In the 2011-20 period, about 202 trillion VND was invested in seaports,accounting for 20.6 percent of the total investment in transportationinfrastructure. Private investment accounted for 86 per cent of that total.

Vietnam’s seaport system has seen significant development in the past decade.Wharf length has increased from 20 km in 2020 to 96 km currently and thehandling capacity from 82.4 million tonnes to 665 million tonnes.

In the first five months of this year, the seaport system handled more than 209million tonnes of cargo, representing a rise of nine percent compared to thesame period last year./.