Promoting the advantages of inland waterway transport

Regional waterway system

The system of rivers, canals, and streams stretching thousands of kilometers from the lower region to the Dong Thap Muoi region, connecting areas inside and outside the province, is a favorable condition for the development of waterway transport. With inland waterways in the province, there are canals: Thu Thua, Duong Van Duong, 79, 12, Xang Lon, 61, Bo Bo, Nhon Xuyen, Cai Co,... The major rivers and arteries are Vam Co Dong, Vam Co Tay, Vam Co, Can Giuoc, and Soai Rap.

Water vehicles transporting goods via inland waterways of the province

According to the Head of the Traffic Safety Department of the Department of Transport (GTVT) - Nguyen Hoai Phong, based on the regulations on decentralization of management, the Department is assigned to manage and maintain 35 inland waterway routes with a length of nearly 600km with rivers and canals of type 4 and type 5. Every year, the Department advises the Provincial People's Committee to issue a Decision on promulgating the unit price for ordering public services using the state budget in the field of management and regular maintenance of inland waterways.

The routes managed by the Central Government have a total length of about 620km. In which, the main routes are the Vam Co, Vam Co Dong, Vam Co Tay, Can Giuoc, Rach La, Ben Luc - Cho Dem Thu Thua rivers or the Thap Muoi No. 1, Thap Muoi No. 2 canals,...

According to the Department of Transport, Vehicle and Driver Management (Department of Transport), every day there are thousands of waterway vehicles circulating in the province. The main transported goods are agricultural products, construction materials, fertilizers, iron and steel, etc. According to statistics, currently, the daily cargo volume at Long An Port Authority is 25,500 tons.

The province has a dense system of rivers, canals and streams, with a total length of more than 8,900km. Currently, the province has 18 inland waterway ports, including 10 ports for loading and unloading goods, 7 specialized inland waterway ports, and 1 inland petroleum port. All of the above ports belong to 2 key routes and national waterways: Can Giuoc River (1 port) and Vam Co Dong River (17 ports).

In the province, there are 393 inland waterway wharves for loading and unloading goods (304 inland waterway wharves belonging to national waterways and 89 wharves belonging to local waterways). Of these, there are 207 wharves for loading and unloading construction materials, 62 wharves for loading and unloading fuel, 42 wharves for loading and unloading food and foodstuffs, 35 wharves for building and repairing watercraft, 47 wharves for loading and unloading fertilizers and other goods. In addition, the province has 136 cross-river passenger wharves in operation.

In addition, on the maritime route (Soai Rap River) of the province, there are 2 seaports: Long An International Port and Pacific Petro International Oil and Gas Port managed by the Ho Chi Minh City Maritime Port Authority.

Continue to exploit effectively

Recorded at the Nuoc Man canal through Can Duoc district, the flow of cargo ships and barges carrying goods and construction materials from the West to Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast provinces is continuous.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan - a resident of Long Huu Dong commune, Can Duoc district, said: "The transportation of goods through Nuoc Man canal is increasingly bustling. Through observation, the density of traffic is increasing."

Traffic police check the operating conditions of water vehicles.

On the inland waterway route in the province, there are also projects invested in other purposes for transportation. Rach Chanh ship lock (Loi Binh Nhon commune, Tan An city) was invested in construction and completed, put into use since the end of 2016, with a total investment of 650 billion VND, modern design, vehicles designed under 1,000 tons will be able to circulate through the lock. In addition, Rach Chanh ship lock also plays a particularly important role in flood discharge in the rainy season, preventing salinity in the dry season, and regulating fresh water in the Dong Thap Muoi region.

Mr. Truong Thinh - owner of a 50-ton wooden boat carrying rice, said: "Every week, I operate 2-3 trains through Rach Chanh lock. The route through Rach Chanh lock creates favorable conditions for inland waterway transport, shortening the distance by 50km (about 6-8 hours) from Ho Chi Minh City to the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta."

Along with the advantages and potentials and development, in recent years, inland waterway freight transport in the province has encountered some difficulties and limitations. These include the temporary suspension and cessation of operations of many waterway vehicles; the source of raw materials and materials for waterway transport is increasingly scarce. Through inspection, there are still wharf owners, vehicle owners and vehicle drivers who have not complied well with the provisions of the Inland Waterway Traffic Law and related legal documents. In recent years, the temporary detention of violating vehicles and the unloading of violating vehicles carrying goods exceeding the safe waterline mark have encountered difficulties in handling.

Rach Chanh ship lock area (Loi Binh Nhon commune, Tan An city) is also a place with a lot of water transport traffic.

To exploit inland waterway transport more effectively in the province, the above difficulties have been pointed out for resolution or proposed solutions. In particular, the locality and the Central Government need to focus on continuing to invest in dredging and clearing waterways; focusing on investing in developing waterways that connect regions and areas with industrial zones, capable of handling large-tonnage watercraft.

In addition, localities and the central government need to invest in building specialized wharves for loading and unloading goods, conveniently connected to roads. All levels, sectors and organizations should step up propaganda work, raise awareness of law compliance of individuals and organizations operating in the field of inland waterways; strengthen inspection, promptly detect and strictly handle violations of order and safety of waterway traffic; step up propaganda and persistently build a culture of waterway traffic./ .

According to Decision No. 686/QD-TTg dated June 13, 2023 of the Prime Minister on approving the Long An Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the plan for developing technical infrastructure is outlined. Regarding provincial-level waterway transport infrastructure, it is necessary to upgrade and renovate 5 transport routes: Tan Tap (Long An seaport) - Ben Luc - Duc Hoa; Tan Tap (Long An seaport) - Ben Luc - Moc Hoa; Tan Tap (Long An seaport) - Tan An - Duc Hoa; Tan Tap (Long An seaport) - Tan An - Moc Hoa; Phuoc Dong - Tan Kim route and 11 branch routes. Inland waterway ports, group 1, plan 18 cargo ports, with a scale to accommodate general cargo and bulk cargo ships with a tonnage of 1,000-2,000 tons. Group 2, planning 17 specialized ports including petroleum ports, ports serving the operations of some factories and industrial parks. Construction scale meets ships with a capacity of 200-5,000 tons. Group 3, planning 14 passenger ports synchronized with passenger transport routes and in accordance with the urban planning of the province. In addition, planning 2 dry ports: Ben Luc dry port in Ben Luc district, with an area of ​​10-15 hectares, with a capacity of 150,000 TEU/year; Tan Lap dry port in Thu Thua district, with an area of ​​10-15 hectares, with a capacity of 150,000 TEU/year.

Vu Quang

Source: https://baolongan.vn/phat-huy-loi-the-van-tai-duong-thuy-noi-dia-a183141.html