Developing inland waterway transport: Need to clear channels

(Baonghean) - Nghe An has 13 large and small rivers with a total length of over 1,000 km. River routes in the province have about 420 specialized vehicles for exploiting and transporting sand and gravel and 91 wharves, gathering and trading sites for sand and gravel on the river. Despite the large river system and large total length, waterway transport in the province has not been as effective as expected.

Hung Nguyen district has 4 inland waterways, with a total length of 76.5 km, transporting mainly construction materials such as sand and gravel from Lam river to local wharves for consumption. Mr. Luu Duc Dien, an expert of the Department of Industry and Trade of Hung Nguyen district, said: In recent years, river transport in the district has been quite effective, traffic is relatively secure, and the development of river transport has actively reduced the load on roads. However, every year during the peak of the summer drought, the river water is low, vehicles cannot move, and during the rainy season, the river water rises and cannot be transported because some sections are blocked by bridges over the river.

Transporting sand by river to the sand wharf in Hung Dao commune (Hung Nguyen).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, owner of Lan Tam sand wharf in Hung Dao commune (Hung Nguyen) shared: This sand wharf has been operating since 2007. We specialize in purchasing sand from Lam Son Dai Thanh Cooperative (Nam Dan) and transporting it by river via Dao River to Hung Nguyen. Normally, every day, there are 6 boats transporting sand from Nam Dan to the wharf with a volume of 400m3. After more than 8 years of doing business at this sand wharf, we have seen that river transportation depends on the water level, is unstable, around May and June (lunar calendar) every year the river water often dries up so the boats cannot move. During the past 2 summer months, the riverbed was dry, vehicles could not transport, so the wharf had no sand to sell, we had to stop. In August (lunar calendar), there were often floods, the river water rose, and the means of transport also had to stop to ensure safety.

In Nam Dan district, Lam Son Dai Thanh Cooperative and 1 LLC have been licensed to exploit sand and gravel with 80 vehicles specializing in exploiting and transporting sand and gravel. Of which, Lam Son Dai Thanh Cooperative has 64 vehicles serving exploitation and transportation, 100% of the above vehicles have been inspected for technical safety and environmental protection, administratively registered, 64 operators have a 3rd class captain's license according to regulations. Mr. Nguyen Trung Chau, Chairman of Lam Son Dai Thanh Cooperative said: "For a long time, transportation on the Lam River route has been relatively stable, but on the Dao River in the summer, when the water is low, boats cannot move. I hope that the river management agency and the province will soon have a plan to dredge the riverbed, circulate the flow to create conditions for inland waterway transport vehicles to circulate smoothly to provide a stable source of raw materials and construction materials for localities in the province".

In fact, Nghe An's rivers and canals are mainly exploited in their natural form without investment in renovation or upgrading. Meanwhile, the weather is unfavorable, in the rainy season the water level is high, and in the summer the water level is low, making it difficult for inland waterway transport and management. In particular, Lam River is an important transport route connecting mountainous and midland districts to the plains to serve convenient water transport. However, there are still many shallow beaches on the route that make it difficult for management and exploitation of transport, especially the section through Thanh Chuong district. Rivers and canals located in coastal plains are affected by tides and waterways that always change with the seasons. Due to the characteristics of the province's rivers, inland waterway transport in Nghe An has not yet developed. Although the rivers in the province are numerous in number and have a large total length, water transport in the province has not yet been as effective as expected.

According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Head of the Department of Transport's Transport Management Department, due to the characteristics of the rivers in the area, the riverbed is narrow, steep, winding, and the rapid flow during the rainy season is very dangerous. Drought often occurs in the dry season, making it difficult for vehicles to travel. Therefore, the development of inland waterway transport in the area is very limited. Regarding this issue, the Department of Transport proposed that the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration allocate more funding to dredge the waterways to ensure that water transport vehicles operate more smoothly, contributing significantly to the economic development of the province and reducing the load on the roads.

In recent times, all levels and sectors have paid special attention to ensuring safety of inland waterway traffic. The Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 2216/QD-UBND dated June 18, 2012 on approving the planning for the development of inland waterway transport in Nghe An province until 2020,... Along with that, actively calling for investment in facilities, means, inland waterway ports, suspension bridges to replace passenger wharves across the river. The Department of Transport has strengthened state management in the field of traffic and transport, sending delegations to conduct periodic and surprise inspections every year, and reviewing life-saving equipment at passenger wharves on the river to fully equip them. Before the rainy season, there are always documents requesting the authorities to strengthen inspection and strict control. Thanks to timely attention and correction, in recent years there have been no inland waterway traffic accidents in the province.

To effectively exploit waterway transport, in the coming time, the province has a policy to invest in dredging and clearing channels for transporting cement at Anh Son Cement Factory, Do Luong, and agricultural products in mountainous districts, to reduce the load on roads.

Quynh Lan