Bac Ninh: Unleashing the advantages of waterway transport

BAC NINH - Thanks to its favorable geographical location with many rivers flowing through, Bac Ninh province has gradually promoted its strengths in inland waterway transport. This is a green form of transport, contributing to reducing the load on roads, saving costs, being environmentally friendly and promoting the circulation of goods. With that meaning, the province is focusing on synchronously implementing management solutions, bringing water transport to develop in a modern, safe and sustainable manner.

Save on shipping costs

The whole province currently has 5 major river systems flowing through it: Duong River, Cau River, Thai Binh River, Luc Nam River, Thuong River with a total length of about 405 km. These rivers are conveniently located for transporting large volumes of goods through wharves and dry ports to connect with industrial centers in the Hanoi capital region and the seaport of Hai Phong city. Of which, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration manages 273 km of announced national inland waterways, ensuring the circulation of watercraft with a tonnage of up to 500 tons, the rest are managed by localities in locations where the river has steep, narrow terrain, and vehicles hardly pass through.

Cargo loading and unloading activities at Tan Cang Que Vo ICD. Photo: Duong Hoan.

It is known that currently, on the rivers there are nearly 100 inland waterway wharves and cargo loading and unloading ports, many of which are modernly invested, serving the loading and unloading of construction materials, agricultural products, cement, iron and steel, industrial goods... According to the authorities, each year, the volume of goods transported by waterway reaches millions of tons, contributing to reducing pressure on the road system, saving 20-30% of transportation costs compared to road transport. At the same time, it limits traffic congestion, reduces pressure on the infrastructure system and emissions from vehicles into the environment.

At the Hung Giang inland waterway terminal on the Thuong River of Hung Giang Limited Liability Company, Tan Tien Ward, it is known that on average, every day, this terminal has dozens of large-capacity vessels entering and leaving to load and unload construction materials, coal, sand, gravel, land for leveling... to serve infrastructure construction in and outside the province. Mr. Tran Van Dung, Director of the Company, said that the investment in a methodical terminal with a mechanical loading and unloading system has doubled the amount of goods transported by waterway loaded and unloaded at the terminal compared to before, an average of 10,000-20,000 tons/month. Each year, the enterprise's revenue reaches 70-80 billion VND, creating jobs for many local workers with an income of more than 10 million VND/person/month.

Similarly, Hoan Chinh water port of Hoan Chinh Production and Trade Limited Company, Nenh ward is also bustling. This port has a favorable location on Cau river, loading and unloading about 800 thousand tons of construction materials transported by river each year for projects inside and outside the province. The company has a revenue of more than 100 billion VND/year, contributes billions of VND to the budget, and creates stable jobs for 30 workers. These are two typical examples showing that water transport is becoming an important "blood vessel" supporting local production and trade.

According to the Department of Construction, not only the two above units, many other enterprises in the province are also effectively exploiting river transport activities through inland waterway terminals with revenue from 20 billion VND to hundreds of billions of VND per year. Typically: Dai An Construction Limited Liability Company operates a waterway terminal in Nhan Hoa ward; Nam Tien Construction Materials Production and Trading Limited Liability Company operates a waterway terminal in Vu Ninh ward; Quang Thinh Limited Liability Company operates a waterway terminal in Bong Lai ward...

Promoting logistics development

The above results confirm that waterway transport is playing an increasingly important role in the province's transport infrastructure. However, waterway transport activities still face some difficulties and limitations. Recently, in the province, there have been cases of some vehicles carrying goods exceeding the safe waterline; anchoring cargo ships in the wrong locations; not having vehicle registration papers; attaching vehicle registration numbers incorrectly... Some organizations and individuals have violated regulations on dike protection corridors, illegally built wharves, anchored vehicles in the wrong locations, causing traffic safety problems. Some wharves have operated without permission...

According to the planning, in the period of 2025-2030, Bac Ninh aims to increase the proportion of goods transported by waterway to 25-30%, gradually forming a modern water port system, connecting with the road, railway and industrial park network. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of water transport activities, since the beginning of the year, the police force and localities have increased inspection and strictly handled violations. The whole province inspected and handled 198 violations in the field of water transport, contributing nearly 430 million VND to the budget.

According to the plan, in the 2025-2030 period, Bac Ninh aims to increase the proportion of freight transport by waterway to 25-30%, gradually forming a modern water port system, connected with the road network, railway and industrial park.

Not only that, implementing the Government 's direction on developing effective waterway transport to promote logistics development in the transport sector, the Provincial People's Committee has specified it with programs and action plans suitable to local conditions. On July 23, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 607/UBND-KTN on implementing solutions to promote the effectiveness of waterway transport to promote logistics development in the transport sector. Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Director of the Department of Construction, said that the unit is in charge of grasping, updating, and integrating the planning of logistics centers, warehouses with waterway transport; advising the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on the plan to develop infrastructure and waterway transport services. The Department is promoting digital transformation in water transport management, building a database of vehicles, wharves, and routes; applying software to track and monitor journeys for transparent and timely management.

Along with that, the police force has increased inspections and promptly handled illegal vehicles operating on the river; the wharves have organized for vehicles to load and unload goods illegally. With the strong direction of the province and the efforts of industries and enterprises, waterway transport is transforming towards modernity, safety, efficiency, and environmental friendliness, contributing to the construction and formation of a supply chain of goods according to the green logistics model, promoting industrial development.

Minh Linh

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/bac-ninh-khoi-thong-loi-the-van-tai-duong-thuy-postid429492.bbg