Deputy Minister of Transport works with Nghe An province on developing seaports and dry ports

Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the meeting. Also attending were representatives of the Maritime Administration (Ministry of Transport) and representatives of relevant departments and branches.

Overview of the working session between the Provincial People's Committee and the working delegation of the Ministry of Transport on the planning of Nghe An Seaport for the period 2021-2030 and vision to 2050. Photo: Nguyen Hai

At the meeting, the representative of the consulting unit said that the seaports in Nghe An province, including the port group in the South of Cua Lo, the North of Cua Lo, Dong Hoi Wharf Area and Ben Thuy Area, Cua Hoi, although having been invested in and dredged several times, due to limited depth and silted channels, the capacity for ships to enter and exit is very limited. The situation of fishing boats jostling still occurs. Therefore, the consulting unit proposed to expand the scale of the invested ports, expand the routes so that larger capacity ships can enter Cua Lo ports or some specialized ports; it is necessary to continue reviewing to supplement the post-port logistics capacity, connect port infrastructure with the road traffic network, connect with regional ports such as Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) and Vung Ang (Ha Tinh); add more logistic transit areas...

The planning diagram of Nghe An seaport and the North Central region was designed by the Ministry of Transport's Advisory Board. Photo: Nguyen Hai

At the meeting, representatives of relevant units raised a number of issues in the process of seaport development in Nghe An such as the province's limited investment resources; the ability to attract investment in the Southeast Economic Zone in general and seaport planning in particular is not high; the province's seaport infrastructure is not synchronously connected with other infrastructure.

Representatives of the Ministry of Transport's Advisory Board presented the results of the port capacity survey until 2020 and the planned new phase. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee spoke at the meeting. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Speaking at the meeting, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Hong Vinh highlighted the significance of seaport planning in the current period and vision to 2050 and requested the consulting unit to calculate the loading and unloading capacity through the regional port group; consider feasible plans; need to calculate specifically to build a seaport as a general, specialized or tourist port; review the land fund to build port logistics areas, dry ports, logistic areas, etc.

A representative of the Department of Transport stated the current status of road infrastructure connecting to Nghe An seaport. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Concluding the meeting, Comrade Nguyen Nhat - Deputy Minister of Transport shared the difficulties of Nghe An province in developing seaports. He agreed with some proposals for investment in upgrading Cua Lo port. The Deputy Minister also noted that the province must have a long-term vision, planning seaports and dry ports needs to be open so that when there is a lot of goods, investment can be made to upgrade without having to ask for permission to adjust the planning because these procedures are very complicated. For specific recommendations, the province is requested to coordinate with the Advisory Board and related parties to resolve.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat spoke and suggested some directions for departments, branches and the People's Committee of Nghe An province to contribute to the new phase of port planning. Photo: Nguyen Hai