Although Vietnam has a dense network of rivers and canals, the volume of cargo and passengers transported on inland waterways accounts for small proportions, 17-19% and 4-6% respectively.

According to a report by the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, Vietnam with 3,200 kilometers of coastline and 240 river mouths ranks fourth among countries with the densest waterway transport networks.

As of last month, the country had 271 seaports including 258 ports handling cargo and 13 others serving passengers. Only Viet Tri and Ninh Phuc ports have been connected to railways but they have yet to be operated.

Vietnam also has nearly 10,800 inland waterway stations with 8,000 of them for cargo handling and more than 2,500 serving passengers.

Despite the lowest cost and capacity to transport a huge volume of freight and people, the sector has not made good use of its advantage. Weak infrastructure links among ports, small investments in inland waterways and low competitiveness of transport enterprises have been attributed to the small proportion of waterborne transport.

The Ministry of Transport plans to upgrade 2,000 kilometers of waterways, mainly inland and coastal ones, and enhance management to increase the market share of the sector to 18-21.5% by 2020. The ministry also expects to raise the volume of cargo transported on waterways to 20-22 million tons a year.

At a meeting on how to increase the inland waterway transport market share on Tuesday, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said preferential loans should be offered for private transport enterprises as they are considered a driving force of the sector.

Minister The assigned agencies under the ministry to identify why the Mekong Delta’s waterway system has not been operated effectively in spite of great potential.

He also required periodic reports on the implementation of the inland waterway restructuring project and other policies to help handle shortcomings and develop the sector, reducing pressure on road transport.

SGT