Deputy PM Hue made the call at a conference, which was jointly held in Can Tho City by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, and the Vietnam Logistics Business Association.
He urged the Mekong Delta localities to build a favourable business and investment environment, provide maximum support for and increase dialogues with investors to promptly remove bottlenecks.
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the conference on logistics in Mekong Delta
The Deputy PM asked relevant agencies, especially the Ministries of Industry and Trade; Transport, and Planning and Investment, to continue reviewing mechanisms, policies and legal regulations to address shortcomings in the field.
The ministries were requested to facilitate logistics service development by mobilising domestic and foreign financial resources, while encouraging businesses of economic sectors to invest in this sphere.
The Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region will coordinate with localities to build a regional action plan to develop logistics infrastructure and services, including the building of a master plan on logistics development for the Mekong Delta.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is requested to work with localities to speed up the building of a logistics centre in the region and call for investment in key logistics infrastructure projects.
Tran Huu Hiep, a member of the committee, pointed out restrictions in the region’s logistics infrastructure and services such as small-scale ports and the asynchronous operation between means of transport, especially waterway and road tranport.
He suggested businesses invest in key logistics projects in the delta between now and 2020 since the amount of cargo handled through the regional ports is forecast to increase in the coming time.
Specifically, the delta is expected to receive 25-28 million tons of cargo per year by 2020, and 66.5-71.5 million tons of cargo by 2030, he noted.
The southwestern region comprises of 12 provinces, namely An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Vinh Long, and Can Tho city.
Vietnam spent about 20-25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on logistics services, which is higher than the levels of 10-13 percent in developed countries and 15-20 percent in developing nations.
Source: VNA