The move was made after Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai asked the city to reconsider the seaport fee collection and the fees have been collected for two months, the local media reported.

The fees will be the same for enterprises in HCMC and other localities.

The proposal is aimed at encouraging enterprises to reduce the use of roads, contributing to easing road congestion and accidents. Meanwhile, the transport of cargo on waterways, currently accounts for only 20% of the market share, requires lower costs.

As 60% of the cargo passing through seaports in HCMC comes from other provinces, so the city has imposed higher fees on goods declared in other provinces to increase the volume of cargo passing through seaports in Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An. However, after two months of the fee collection, enterprises from other provinces have still chosen seaports in HCMC to file declarations for their goods.

HCMC officially began the seaport fee collection from April 1 with the lowest fee being VND15,000 per ton and the highest being VND4.4 million per ton.

Source: Saigon Times