'Goods in the West must bear additional fees because the region has no ports'

Because there is no central seaport, each ton of goods exported or imported from the Mekong Delta has to incur an additional cost of about 10 USD, according to Mr. Nguyen Van The.

The information was presented by Secretary of the Party Committee of Central Agencies Nguyen Van The (former Secretary of Soc Trang Province) at the workshop on Planning for the development of Tran De seaport on August 7.

According to Mr. The, because the Mekong Delta does not have a central gateway port, all goods from the region that want to be exported abroad or imported must be transited through Ho Chi Minh City, each ton of exported goods must incur an additional cost of about 10 USD.

"Up to this point, there is no location as good as Tran De for a seaport. Because the port is only about 60 km from Can Tho City, very close to Bac Lieu , Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Ca Mau provinces....", Mr. The said and believed that without this port, the Mekong Delta "will remain poor forever".

Mr. Nguyen Van The, former Minister of Transport, spoke at the conference. Photo: An Minh — Mr. Nguyen Van The, former Minister of Transport, spoke at the conference. Photo: *An Minh*

According to the planning, Tran De - Soc Trang port area has a scale of about 5,400 hectares, with the capacity to receive general cargo ships, container ships with a capacity of about 100,000 DWT (equivalent to 100,000 tons), and bulk cargo ships of 160,000 DWT. The project requires about 50,000 billion VND in capital in the start-up phase, with a design capacity of 80-100 million tons per year. The port is expected to connect the economy of the Mekong Delta with the international shipping route through the East Sea, expected to be a breakthrough to quickly transport goods from 13 provinces in the West to other countries.

The former Secretary of the Soc Trang Provincial Party Committee also said that the West is developing strongly in agriculture and forestry but has not developed strongly in industry because there are not enough highways and ports. When the transportation connection is complete, it will promote the development of regional industry, forming industrial zones and clusters, bringing high socio-economic efficiency.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, said that the company specializes in seafood products, exporting about 25,000-30,000 tons annually. Over the past 27 years, the company's goods have had to be transported to ports in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

"If there is a Tran De seaport in Soc Trang, it will reduce transportation costs, reduce risks for orders, increase reliability in importing and exporting goods; creating a competitive advantage for the region," said Mr. Luc, adding that with 1,500-2,000 export containers per year, if there is a seaport, it will reduce costs by about 20 billion VND.

Currently, more than 70% of the import and export goods of the Mekong Delta region must be transported by road to the Ho Chi Minh City port cluster. This situation has increased transportation costs, taken a long time, affected the quality of goods, and created pressure on the road traffic system.

At the workshop, Chairman of the People's Committee of Soc Trang province Tran Van Lau said that the West still faces many difficulties and development is not commensurate with its potential. In particular, the transport infrastructure is still limited and unsynchronized. Based on the proposed opinions, the province will coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to study and integrate into the process of building a pre-feasibility study report for the project, and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang said that by the end of this year, or 2024 at the latest, the Ministry will complete the planning of the seaport waters of the region and Soc Trang province and submit it to the Government for approval, so that the Tran De port project can be soon implemented. "The Government has included Tran De port in the national development investment target. This is a very dedicated project of the Government and the National Assembly to develop the Mekong Delta," he said.

Tran De is a coastal district of Soc Trang province located on the Nam Song Hau national highway connecting Can Tho city, Hau Giang province and Bac Lieu. The district has 12 km of coastline, with great potential for tourism and marine economic development.
An Minh

An Minh

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