Promoting connectivity and developing multimodal transport.

The conference was also attended by leaders from 12 provinces and cities, and connected online at 22 locations across the country.

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh, along with Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang, co-chaired the conference. — Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh and Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang chaired the conference.

The conference took place against the backdrop of increasing globalization and international economic integration, where multimodal transport and logistics play a crucial role in the competitiveness and growth of the economy. One of the key trends in modern transport systems is the development of multimodal transport, which means organizing the transportation of goods based on a harmonious combination of various modes of transport such as road, rail, inland waterway, sea, and air in an interconnected, unified, and efficient transport chain.

Making Vietnam a regional and global goods transshipment hub.

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh delivered the opening remarks at the conference.

In his opening remarks at the conference, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh stated: In recent years, Vietnam has witnessed strong economic growth. By 2025, statistics show that import and export turnover will reach nearly 930 billion USD; freight transport volume will exceed 3 billion tons, an increase of 14.1% compared to the same period, of which: road transport volume will have the highest growth rate, reaching over 2.2 billion tons, an increase of 14.7%; container throughput at seaports will reach approximately 34.3 million TEU, an increase of 12%; these results have significantly contributed to Vietnam's GDP growth of 8.02% (the highest rate in the 2011-2025 period).

Delegates attending conference 2 — Delegates attending the conference

Emphasizing the importance of developing multimodal transport not only as a matter of connecting transportation infrastructure, but also as a matter of national competitiveness, economic security, and the aspiration to make Vietnam a regional and global goods transit hub in the new era, Minister Tran Hong Minh requested delegates attending the conference to analyze and assess the current situation and factors affecting the development of multimodal transport in order to focus on removing barriers, difficulties, and obstacles; share practical experiences from units and businesses, international experiences, and recommendations for Vietnam in improving institutions, planning, connecting transportation infrastructure, developing multimodal transport, digital transformation, and green transformation in transportation activities.

Simultaneously, the proposal suggests solutions to promote the connection of transportation modes, ensuring synchronization in policies, planning, infrastructure, digital transformation, green transformation, and the development of multimodal transport enterprises so that each mode of transport operates according to its proper role: road transport acting as a connector, transit point, and link between the initial and final stages; rail transport handling large volumes and long distances; maritime transport handling import and export goods; inland waterway transport handling large volumes at low costs; and air transport handling fast transport of high-value goods…

Overview of the conference — Conference scene

At the conference, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport and Traffic Safety, Do Cong Thuy, also stated that multimodal transport currently accounts for only about 2-3% of the total volume of goods transported, while road transport remains dominant, and rail, waterway, and maritime transport have not yet fully utilized their potential due to a lack of efficient consolidation points, transshipment stations, and inland container depots (ICDs).

Currently, the connectivity between different modes of transport to maximize the efficiency of the entire system is not high, resulting in an imbalance in the transport structure. The shift towards inland waterways and railways is slow, increasing pressure on the road transport sector. The technical infrastructure connecting to ports (access channels, logistics routes) is often slow to receive investment, leading to bottlenecks and serious congestion in some key port areas.

Pham Van Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Hai Phong City, delivered a speech.

Based on local experience, Deputy Director of the Hai Phong City Department of Construction, Pham Van Huy, shared: Hai Phong City is the gateway to the world for the northern provinces and cities, possessing all five types of transportation. This poses an urgent issue for Hai Phong in its development strategy: to strongly exploit the advantages of its unique geographical location and its possession of the largest seaport in the North – a gateway for import and export trade of goods and services connecting with domestic and international markets. This is a superior comparative advantage of Hai Phong compared to other localities in the region.

However, according to Pham Van Huy, Deputy Director of the Hai Phong City Department of Construction, the city's maritime infrastructure currently lacks sufficient depth and modern specialized equipment to accommodate large vessels over 200,000 DWT, reducing transshipment capacity and failing to attract direct shipping routes to Europe and America; multimodal transport connectivity is not yet synchronized and has not become an integrated logistics system; coordination between seaports and road, inland waterway, and rail transport is limited, lacking data sharing, resulting in high logistics costs; and the ecosystem serving the logistics center and seaport services is not yet synchronized…

The conference was connected online to 22 provinces and cities.

Based on this, the Deputy Director of the Hai Phong City Department of Construction proposed that the Ministry prioritize allocating and supporting central government budget funds for investment in maritime transport infrastructure, especially in the Lach Huyen and Nam Do Son areas; promptly update and adjust port planning, recalculate the demand and growth rate of goods passing through the Lach Huyen and Nam Do Son port areas to add port facilities to be implemented immediately from now until 2030, as a basis for research and attracting investment; supplement the planning for international cargo transshipment terminals and specialized terminals for vessels over 200,000 DWT; upgrade the Hai Phong - Viet Tri inland waterway route and the Quang Ninh - Hai Phong - Thai Binh - Nam Dinh - Ninh Binh route to improve the capacity for transporting containerized and bulk cargo, reducing pressure on road transport…

Deputy General Director of Vietnam Maritime Corporation Nguyen Ngoc Anh delivered a speech.

Shift from a mindset of developing each mode of transport individually to organizing an integrated transport system based on interconnected chains.

To effectively develop multimodal transport and modern logistics chains, representatives from various units at the conference argued that synchronized coordination between businesses, state management agencies, and research and training institutions is necessary.

Specifically, it is necessary to implement a comprehensive set of solutions focusing on institutional reform, infrastructure development, business support, digital transformation, and green logistics development. These solutions need to be implemented synchronously, with a specific roadmap, and aligned with the country's socio-economic development strategy for the new period.

Furthermore, investing in the development of infrastructure connecting different modes of transport plays a particularly important role. This includes focusing investment on transportation routes connecting seaports, airports, industrial zones, and logistics centers, while developing North-South and East-West multimodal transport corridors will contribute to improving transport efficiency and reducing logistics costs.

Strengthening the connection between seaports and road, rail, and inland waterway transport will contribute to improving the efficiency of port system operation and promoting the development of multimodal transport - emphasized Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC).

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh delivered the closing remarks at the conference. — Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh delivered the concluding remarks at the conference.

Based on the reports and opinions presented at the workshop, in his concluding remarks, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh assessed that while the connection between different modes of transport has developed, there are still many limitations; the transport structure remains unbalanced, heavily dependent on road transport, while modes of transport with advantages in cost and volume such as rail and waterway have not been fully utilized, and the efficiency of infrastructure exploitation in some areas is still not optimized…

Accordingly, the urgent task now is to review and adjust provincial planning and specialized transportation planning, ensuring linkage, synchronization, uniformity, efficiency, and sustainability as a basis for adjusting investment plans for transportation infrastructure development, promoting the development of East-West, North-South economic corridors, and transforming the northern and southern regions into multimodal transport hubs. Simultaneously, focused implementation is needed, clearly identifying priority investment projects to enhance local and inter-regional transport connectivity.

Minister Tran Hong Minh also instructed specialized agencies to research and include in the Strategic Plan for the Development of Transportation Services until 2035, with a vision to 2050, and to plan for 5 specialized sectors in the transportation field.

The Ministry of Construction, in coordination with relevant ministries and agencies, will review legal regulations on transportation; propose amendments and additions to overlapping and inappropriate mechanisms and policies; research and propose investment incentives to develop a fleet of large-capacity, high-speed container ships and inland waterway vessels; and develop a modern fleet of aircraft to provide international transportation services…

Ministries, sectors, localities, associations, and businesses should closely coordinate with the Ministry of Construction to continue improving institutions and policies, and absorbing international experience to implement a comprehensive and effective shift from developing individual modes of transport to organizing an integrated transport system along interconnected chains; shifting from investing in isolated infrastructure to focusing on developing synchronous, modern infrastructure along highly connected multimodal transport corridors; and moving from a decentralized management model to data-driven and digital-based transport system governance.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/thuc-day-ket-noi-phat-trien-van-tai-da-phuong-thuc-10417687.html