The northern port of Hai Phong, around 100 km of the Ha Noi capital city, is making contribution to boosting the development of Viet Nam’s sea-born economy.

The Hai Phong-based port currently handles up to 90 percent of the volume of imports and exports in northern Viet Nam although its length is only one-third of the total of the 24 seaports in the country.

Every year, the volume of cargo handled through the port increases by an average 10 percent. It reached nearly 24 million tonnes in 2007, far higher than the initially-set target of 18 million tonnes.

Nguyen Chu Giang – deputy director of the Hai Phong Port authorities – said developing transport system, particularly road segments linking Highways 5 and 10 has facilitated the port’s operations. He went on to say that a number of well-known shipping firms have opened routes to the port, including APM, APL, the East Sea and Van Lang.

“This will lay a firm foundation for the port to achieve its target of handling 28-30 tonnes of cargo by 2010,” Giang added.

However, experts said, maritime potential has not been tapped efficiently not only in the northern city of Hai Phong but also across the country, and that the sea-born economy is contributing a mere 12 percent to the country’s GDP.

Prof. Tran Dinh Thien from the Viet Nam Economics Institute said in order to accelerate sea-born economy development, it is necessary to make an overall and full assessment on the sea’s potential as well as map out plans on tapping natural resources with consideration of political, cultural and security aspects.

A national strategy has set a target of increasing the proportion of sea-born and littoral economy to 53-55 percent of GDP in the 2006-2020 period.

The strategy also sets to develop several coastal urban areas and give priority to developing the shipping, sea tourism, fishing, oil and gas, and natural resources exploitation.

The northern port city of Hai Phong alone also plans to boost the sea-born economy, raising its contribution to the city’s GDP to 35-40 percent by 2020.

It is also expected to become a big centre of shipping service in Viet Nam and maintain its position as the largest centre of ship building alongside accelerating the development of aquaculture and sea tourism.

Source: VNA