Central Vietnam crying out for logistics investments

Localities in central Vietnam are seeking investments in logistics infrastructure and services.

Speaking at a trade promotion conference held on Friday, Huong Van Minh, deputy director of Quang Nam province’s Department of Trade and Industry, noted that developing logistics infrastructure for local production and export is an important task.

With the aim of becoming a major sea transport and logistics hub in the central region, Quang Nam is seeking corporate investment to develop logistics infrastructure and services. Its trade value reached $13.3 billion in 2021-2023 and $1.5 billion in the first five months of 2024, up 10% year-on-year.

Neighboring Quang Binh province is also looking for investment in key projects, including tier-2 logistics centers at the Hon La economic zone and Cha Lo international border gate, a provincial logistics center, a system of distribution warehouses, and district-level logistics centers connected to industrial clusters and centralized manufacturing areas.

Phan Hoai Nam, deputy director of Quang Binh’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that these projects will strengthen trade links between Quang Binh and localities in the central coast region, northeast Thailand, and Myanmar within the East-West economic corridor.

In the first five months of this year, Quang Binh posted a trade value of $230 million, including $78.7 million in exports.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang stated that the central region is facing several challenges, such as economic growth missing targets, a lacklustre maritime economy, underperforming coastal economic zones and industrial parks/clusters, and the underutilization of airports and seaports.

For example, the central beach province of Khanh Hoa, known for its strengths in fisheries exports and developing industrial parks, is facing difficulties in logistics modernization and goods distribution.

The province lacks both a seaport designated for transporting container-loaded commodities and a logistics center for imports and exports. Therefore, a large share of goods from Khanh Hoa and the Central Highland region is primarily transported through ports in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City.

Huynh Tan Hai, deputy director of Khanh Hoa’s Department of Industry and Trade, urged the government to issue policies and fine-tune legal frameworks on logistics service development in the central region.

His Quang Binh counterpart, Nam, also recommended the ministry hold conferences and dialogues on the maritime economy and logistics service development, thereby encouraging import and export firms to engage in and promote the growth of logistics services.