Exploiting the potential of water transport in Ho Chi Minh City

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has a rich waterway network in both inner city and suburban areas as well as Con Dao special zone.

Disproportionate development

That abundance, combined with seaports that can accommodate large ships, transportation and tourism routes, especially the Bach Dang - Vung Tau highway, Can Gio - Vung Tau ferry... have brought Ho Chi Minh City many advantages in transportation and tourism, creating momentum for logistics development as well as reducing pressure on road traffic.

However, according to the assessment of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the port and wharf infrastructure in the city has not developed commensurate with its potential. Specifically, there are very few large-scale seaports, not enough to accommodate many mother ships at the same time.

The system of ports, inland waterways, and dry ports is still fragmented and incomplete compared to the planning, with many problems related to investment and land regulations. The figures of 37 operating waterways/108 planned ports; 354 operating inland waterways/636 planned ports; and 132 inland waterway routes over a length of more than 1,430 km are quite modest.

In addition, the multimodal connection between roads, railways and waterways is not yet seamless. Many freight transport routes have not been effective due to limitations in waterways and clearance.

The whole city has 5 waterway passenger transport routes, including: river bus No. 1 (Bach Dang - Linh Dong), high-speed boat from Bach Dang wharf - Vung Tau, sea ferry from Can Gio - Vung Tau, high-speed boat from Saigon Port to Ben Dam Port (Con Dao), high-speed boat from Vung Tau to Ben Dam Port, which are not enough to meet the demand.

Water transport in Ho Chi Minh City has many opportunities to break through.

Priority investment in nearly 30 projects

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has just proposed to include a series of projects to develop the waterway transport network, waterway infrastructure, ports and wharves in the list of priority key investment projects for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

The Department of Construction believes that in order for Ho Chi Minh City to exploit its waterway transport potential and become a leading waterway transport center in the country, with a scale comparable to that of Southeast Asia and Asia, contributing to socio -economic development and ensuring national defense and security, it must invest commensurately according to the approved plan.

In the immediate future, it is necessary to form two main waterway transport corridors. First, the North - Southeast corridor includes North Tay Ninh, Binh Duong , Dong Nai - city center - Hiep Phuoc, Can Gio, Vung Tau, Cai Mep - Thi Vai. Second, the East - West corridor includes Southwest, South Tay Ninh - city center - Hiep Phuoc, Can Gio, Vung Tau, Cai Mep - Thi Vai. On these two corridors, the focus will be on developing four dynamic axes connecting to the central area of Ho Chi Minh City.

More specifically, in the 2026-2030 period, Ho Chi Minh City will develop infrastructure for the central area, prioritizing investment in the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi international passenger port system and the Ben Bach Dang park passenger port. At the same time, encourage investment, form inland waterway ports to serve public passengers, and upgrade many important canals.

In the North of Ho Chi Minh City, at least 1 cargo port, 1 passenger port, 1 dry port will be built, forming many inland waterway ports. In the South, Vung Tau international passenger port will be completed and a number of international container ports will be deployed in the Can Gio - Cai Mep - Thi Vai area...

In general, in the period of 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, Ho Chi Minh City has nearly 30 key projects included in the priority investment list, including waterway transport network, ports, wharves, dredging channels...

Development flow

Emphasizing the important role of the waterway transport system, Dr. Pham Viet Thuan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Natural Resources and Environment Economics, commented that waterway transport is not only the lifeline for transporting goods, developing logistics, sharing with road transport, but also promoting the city's socio-economic development.

According to Dr. Pham Viet Thuan, if Ho Chi Minh City invests appropriately, it will not only awaken the potential of waterway transport, create momentum for the development of the marine economy and river economy, but also preserve the river culture, creating a unique identity for the city. The competent authorities should soon take measures to remove obstacles in infrastructure, wharves, and planning of river corridors to facilitate socialized investment by enterprises.

Passionate about river tourism and considering it an indispensable identity of Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan, Director of Thuong Nhat Company Limited - the operator of river bus route No. 1, said that the city's development history is closely associated with the image of "above the wharf, below the boat", creating a unique cultural feature that few places have. With a dense and diverse canal system, plus the advantage of merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, promoting the potential of waterway transportation in Ho Chi Minh City is absolutely correct.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan acknowledged that in addition to investing in port infrastructure, wharves, and expanding routes, it is also necessary to remove bottlenecks in land leasing mechanisms and land use planning along river and canal corridors. "When there is a mechanism, businesses are ready to bid, join hands with the city to develop wharves, expand tourism, and invest in river bus routes to serve the people," he affirmed.

Mr. Phan Xuan Anh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Du Ngoan Viet Company, also said that developing river tourism must be associated with onshore wharf infrastructure. Most of the riverside land in Ho Chi Minh City is publicly owned, and without a long-term lease policy, it will be difficult for businesses to invest. Therefore, the city needs to establish a specialized task force to resolve this issue.

Take advantage

At the workshop on Developing waterway transport connecting passenger transport and tourism in Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2025 - 2030 recently organized by the Institute for Urban Development Studies, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau assessed that Ho Chi Minh City has a great advantage as it is both a river city and has a sea-oriented character.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau, the rivers in Ho Chi Minh City not only have transportation value but are also associated with history, culture, beliefs and traditional craft villages. In addition to focusing on investing in wharves and waterways to develop waterway transportation, Ho Chi Minh City needs to restore the identity of rivers such as craft villages, market wharves, religious establishments, and preserve riverside stilt houses to develop community tourism.