For the Logistics industry in Nghe An to truly develop

Logistics is a specialized term of Greek origin and the closest Vietnamese word meaning is "logistics". It can be understood that Logistics is a part of the supply chain that includes all the work related to goods including packaging, transportation, storage, preservation... until the goods are delivered to the final consumer.

Any manufacturing enterprise must pay attention to and have a suitable Logistics strategy. A good Logistics strategy will help the enterprise save time, effort and money effectively. Nowadays, Logistics is one of the strengths, helping to promote the competitive advantage of the enterprise in particular and the economy in general.

Current status of logistics activities in the province
Nghe An basically has a relatively developed transportation system, with 16 National Highways passing through the area, with a total length of 1,768 km and 32 provincial roads with a total managed length of 662.1 km; The North-South railway line passing through Nghe An province has a total length of 128 km, 01 medium-class passenger station.

Vinh International Airport currently has only one runway 2,400 m long, 45 m wide, serving 1,000 passengers during peak hours, with a designed capacity of 2 million passengers/year. There are currently 7 flight routes including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Lat (Lam Dong), Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa), Gia Lai and the international route is Vientiane (Laos); the route to Bangkok (Thailand) opened in June 2016. Domestic flights have basically met the travel needs of the people, however, international flights are still operating at a low level, due to the low travel needs of passengers.

Graphics by Huu Quan

The inland waterway system has a total length of 907.6 km, of which 217.1 km are centrally managed waterways and 45.1 km are local waterways managed by the Department of Transport, the remaining 647.5 km are directly managed by the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns.

Logistics services in Nghe An have only developed at the level of participating in the transportation of goods, mainly businesses providing transportation services. Shipping agents such as: Nhat Viet Company; Global Logistics Company, Container Joint Stock Company, Viconship, Naconship and road transport businesses such as: Hop Manh Company Limited, Thanh Thanh Dat Company Limited, Global Logistics Company,... have also invested in vehicles, innovated management and operation methods to serve the transportation needs of businesses in the province.
According to the assessment of infrastructure investors such as VSIP, Hemaraj and enterprises participating in import-export business activities in the area, Nghe An's Logistics services have not yet met the needs and development potential of the province, and are a bottleneck and less attractive point in attracting investment due to the high cost of Logistics services compared to other provinces and cities such as Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City,...

Currently, the whole country has about 3,000 companies participating in providing logistics services, of which 70% are headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City area and there are about 30 multinational logistics companies.

Containers lined up at Cua Lo port. Photo: Tran Chau

Some solutions for Logistics development in Nghe An

For logistics to truly develop, Nghe An needs to have a systematic, professional and synchronous roadmap including:

The first:Early formation and development of a complete logistics service market based on the foundation: Seaport infrastructure, warehouse system, optimal traffic system connecting to key areas of the province and the North Central region.

Monday:The province must build a stable legal environment; the state management of logistics must be transparent and effective; build a logistics business community inside and outside the province with high-quality human resources, applying modern IT, capable of competing in a comprehensive package with competitive prices, meeting the needs of import-export enterprises in the locality and region.

Tuesday:It is necessary to soon have mechanisms and preferential policies to support logistics service businesses to achieve stable performance and efficiency in the initial period, moving towards sustainable development in the following period; support the establishment of companies specializing in logistics services; build and effectively operate a transport exchange to ensure the use of the transport capacity of vehicles...

Wednesday:It is necessary to form a network of logistics centers located near traffic hubs such as Vinh International Airport, Cua Lo International Seaport Cluster, Dong Hoi Seaport, Nghi Son... or deploy on major traffic routes connecting the city area to key economic zones of the province, to transit and supply goods for the distribution chain; develop logistics centers to serve goods between Nghe An and other provinces, import and export goods directly from Nghe An seaports, especially when there are expressways, high-speed railways, and trans-Asia expressways passing through Nghe An in the near future.

Thursday:Early modernization of the customs system, including strong development of the form of customs agents by increasing the number of customs agents; building a priority regime on customs procedures for import and export shipments declared by customs agents, such as exemption from document inspection and exemption from goods inspection for declarations declared by customs agents, stamped...