45 provinces and cities issue logistics service development plans
As of now, logistics service development plans have been issued by forty-five provinces and cities, with forty-seven provinces and cities reporting on their logistics activities’ implementation over the past year.
Nine provinces and cities have convened conferences to stimulate investment and enhance provincial logistics services, while five provinces and cities have conducted training sessions on logistics knowledge for local officials.
Loading and unloading containers at Chu Lai Port. — Photo courtesy of THACO
Last Friday, the Agency of Foreign Trade (AFT) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) organized a meeting with municipal and provincial departments of industry and trade to discuss State management of the logistics sector in Hà Nội.
Addressing the meeting’s commencement, Nguyễn Anh Sơn, Director of AFT, highlighted Vietnam’s special geopolitical location within a dynamically developing global region. With increasingly profound integration into the global economy, Vietnam consistently achieves double-digit growth rates in import-export and e-commerce.
Sơn added that Vietnam is emerging as an attractive destination for logistics activities in the Asia-Pacific region. A World Bank report from last year placed Vietnam 43rd in the logistics efficiency index ranking, among the top five in ASEAN alongside Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as the Philippines.
Moreover, Vietnam’s logistics sector experiences an average annual growth rate of 14-16%, significantly contributing to the country’s total export and import turnover, reaching US$638 billion last year.
Vietnam’s logistics services not only drive economic development but also play a pivotal role in establishing an efficient transportation network, linking domestic trade with international markets, Sơn noted.
During the meeting, Vũ Bích Hảo, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Province, underscored the province’s diverse logistics services, encompassing transportation, warehousing, and ancillary support services.
The province boasts over 300 businesses providing transportation and logistics warehousing services. Regarding seaport logistics infrastructure, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu has 69 planned ports, with 50 operational projects featuring a total wharf length of 17,735 meters and a design capacity of 180 million tonnes per year. Additionally, it has eight container ports with an annual capacity of 8.3 million TEUs.
Hảo emphasized the potential of the Cái Mép – Thị Vải Port cluster as a vital gateway not only for Vietnam but also for Southeast Asia. To enhance competitiveness and foster the logistics industry, she recommended that MoIT continually refine policies and laws on logistics services, especially offering detailed guidance on State management in this field to serve as a legal foundation for localities’ deployment and implementation.