For many years, at Cai Mep - Thi Vai (CM-TV), there has been a paradox in which mother ships deliver goods to and from here, but the goods are transported by barges to neighboring provinces for customs clearance. The reason is that CM-TV lacks a reasonable logistics ecosystem

The seaport logistics ecosystem is not complete

Ms. Pham Thi Bao Hanh - Deputy General Director of Vina Logistics - VNL Joint Stock Company (the unit directly operating Hung Thai General Service Port) said that the reason why ships dock at CM-TV but are taken to Cat Lai for customs clearance is because this place lacks a logistics ecosystem such as dry ports, empty container warehouses, lack of inspection and testing centers, and unsynchronized traffic connections. This is also the reason why most of the exported goods still carry out the exploitation stages (container packing, inspection, customs clearance, etc.) at ICDs in other provinces, then transported by barge to be loaded onto mother ships in the CM-TV area.

From an expert's perspective, Associate Professor Dr. Ho Thi Thanh Hoa also pointed out the limitations of the seaports in the CM-TV area such as the seaport logistics service ecosystem has not been fully invested, making it difficult to reach customers. The port cluster has not fully exploited its natural advantages when up to 85% of arrivals and departures at CM-TV are transported by barges to complete customs clearance procedures at other ports.

Mr. Pham Quang Huy - Senior Expert of Gemadept Group also said that the source of transit goods and local goods is very low. At the same time, the CM-TV port system has too few intra-Asia shipping routes, so many businesses within the "footprint" of CM-TV that need to import and export on this route are having to transport goods to Cat Lai port (HCMC). In addition, high transportation costs, the logistics service system, and seaport support services have not kept up with the development speed... are the reasons why the CM-TV port cluster still has difficulty attracting goods sources.

Logistics solutions for Cai Mep - Thi Vai?

In order for goods to pass through the CM-TV area, many opinions say that it is necessary to quickly complete the logistics ecosystem for CM-TV.

Mr. Do Cong Khanh - Chairman of Gemalink International Port, Deputy General Director of Gemadept - Gemalink Joint Stock Company (GML) said that the province needs to speed up the progress of regional traffic projects, soon deploy the Cai Mep Ha logistics center, attract investment for industries using containers, open and breakthrough policies to attract investment; preferential policies for shipping lines; develop high-quality human resources for the logistics industry, large-scale production; accompany to remove difficulties, support businesses...

Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Van Tho - Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that the whole province has 57 planned ports, of which 28 have been put into operation, with a total wharf length of 11.6km. CM-TV area alone has 35 ports, 17 of which have been put into operation. Along with the development of seaports, the port logistics service industry is gradually forming a logistics ecosystem, connecting Ba Ria - Vung Tau to the global supply chain.

However, to complete the logistics ecosystem to improve the efficiency of the seaport system, the province will strive to complete the traffic routes connecting the province with the Southeast region, promote regional connectivity; form a national logistics center, establish a free trade zone associated with the seaport in Cai Mep Ha area, attract strategic investors and design a complete, synchronous ecosystem, applying leading international standards. Ba Ria - Vung Tau is oriented to focus on developing logistics centers on the coastal economic corridor, developing logistics centers to serve the transit of goods between the locality and other provinces and cities in the Southern region, and the transit of import and export goods through seaports.

At the same time, develop the CM-TV free trade zone to facilitate attracting global economic groups to move global supply chains to this area; establish a goods distribution center connecting Long Thanh airport and CM-TV port to combine multimodal transportation.

Along with that, the province advocates researching the formation of a post-port commercial area, planning functional areas including: duty-free zones, warehouses; distribution centers; specialized inspection centers to promote the role of an international transit hub port, creating momentum to promote Ba Ria - Vung Tau to become a logistics and transit center of the region.