Congestion around Cat Lai Port.
HCM City Department of Transport said the ports in the city play an important role in connecting the maritime transport of Southeast Asia, Mekong Delta Region with Vietnam’s four major ports of Cat Lai, Nha Be, Hiep Phuoc and Saigon.
However, congestion around the port has become an urgent problem and caused transportation costs to rise. Statistics from 2019 show that the total amount of goods transported via HCM City's ports will be 237 million tonnes in 2030, putting huge pressure on infrastructure.
Taking lessons from port models in Hai Phong City, the department proposed to collect port charges and service fees to fund more public investment.
Cargo which is temporarily brought into Vietnam for re-export and where the declaration is completed outside of HCM City will mean the owners will have to pay VND2.2m (USD95) for a 20ft container, VND4.4m for a 40ft container or VND50,000 for a tonne of goods. The cost for import-export cargo with declaration filled in HCM City will mean the owners will have to pay VND250,000 per 20ft container, VND500,000 per 40ft container or VND16,000 for a tonne of goods.
Fees for cargo that are used for national defence and natural disaster prevention or social security will be waived.
Tran Quang Lam, director of the Department of Transport said they had to depend on PPP investment or city's budget for transport projects. However, these sources are limited and PPP models were not suitable for the projects around ports.
If everything goes smoothly, they will be able to contribute VND3trn to the city's budget each year.
"In five years, we'll have VND15trn (USD645m). Along with the city's budget, we'll have enough to complete the transport projects that connect seaports in HCM City," he said.
Some of the projects are Nguyen Huu Tho expansion, Ring Road 2 further completion and an upgrade to the canals.
"The number of shipments may rise and the travel times will decrease which means the transportation costs will fall and boost development," he said.