During the opening ceremony in central Hue city, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong highlighted the need for the new route to help transfer cargo between the localities.

Cong noted that the decision was inspired by the success of the route between northern Quang Ninh province and south-central Binh Thuan province, which substantially eased the burden on road transportation, including reductions in the number of traffic accidents, the number of overloaded vehicles and the costs of transportation, as well as relieving the infrastructure system.

The new shipping route comprises two parts, the 858km-long Quang Binh-Binh Thuan waterway passing through 10 central provinces and cities, and the 700km-long section between Binh Thuan and Kien Giang, connecting the seven Mekong Delta provinces, the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City.

The new domestic waterway connects to the Quang Ninh-Quang Binh route, which was launched on July 6, creating ​​ a continuous route from Quang Ninh to Kien Giang .

The ministry instructed port authorities in the provinces and cities between Quang Binh and Kien Giang to complete the administrative procedures quickly and allocate human resources accordingly.

A recent survey conducted by the Vietnam Maritime Administration showed approximatel 51.5 million tonnes of goods are transported to and from the Mekong Delta each year.

In the immediate future, 2.1 million tonnes of construction materials will be transported from Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to the Mekong Delta to dredge a navigational channel leading to the Hau River.

Meanwhile, enterprises based in central Da Nang City need to ship more than 400,000 tonnes of cargo such as fertiliser, clinker, timber, oil and steel a year.

These cargo loads are currently transferred overland from Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang, and vice versa.

Source: VNA