The Traffic Developmentand Strategy Institute said the upgrading would help reduce the load ofroad traffic from HCM City to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.
Total cargo is expected to reach 93.5 million tonnes by 2020, a year-on-year rise of 7.7 percent in the 2016-20 period.
Of that amount, transport by road accounts for 25.3 million tonnes(27.1 percent); inland waterway, 62.3 million tonnes (66.83 percent);and river and sea 5.67 million tonnes (6.07 percent).
The institute said the country should issue incentives and favourablepolicies on land, taxes and interest rates for enterprises, includingship owners, shippers, and sea transport-service providers, to build orupgrade container ports and other facilities at ports.
According to the institute, the country also needs to call for theprivate sector to invest in building or upgrading ports and seaports aswell as storage facilities in Tien Giang, Can Tho, An Giang, Kien Giang,Ca Mau and HCM City.
Urgent work includes the upgradeof the waterway from HCM City to Ca Mau for container barges of morethan 2,000 tonnes, an upgrade of Xa No Canal and coastal routes runningthrough Dai Ngai – Bac Lieu – Gia Rai.
Large-scaleriver ports also need upgrading in order to upload containers at storagecentres to collect and ship cargo. Ports include Binh Long Port (AnGiang), An Phuoc Port (Vinh Long), Long Binh Port (HCM City). A newcargo port should be built inland in Cai Lay in Tien Giang Province, theinstitute recommended.
Shipping facilities forcarrying containers are also needed. Improvement of facilities to uploadcontainers on inland waterway should also be carried out, the institutesaid.
The second phase of the project would upgradethe Cho Gao canal, and dredge and widen the flow of canal to 80 metresfor container barges of more than 2,000.
The institutesaid the country should soon put into operation transport routes suchas Binh Thuan – Kien Giang and link with ports in HCM City, Tien Giang,Can Tho and Ca Mau. Vessels of 1,000 DWT could be received and thenlater vessels of 2,000 and 4,000 DWT.
The institutealso urged the completion of the project Quan Chanh Bo that wouldreceive vessels of 10,000 DWT and 20,000 DWT.
As forroads, the country would need to improve the capacity of road traffic totransport and collect cargo, and transport goods to inland river portsin Can Tho, An Giang, Ca Mau, An Giang, Ca Mau and Kien Giang.-VNA