I. Main content
Vinamarine has been assigned by Vietnam’s Government to prepare a new Master Plan for ports for the period 2020-2030. Three reports have been produced so far and, after completion, the plan will be subject to Prime Minister’s approval and then promulgated. The master plan focuses on development of seaports in order to foster Vietnam’s economic growth. It should be regarded as a significant progress as the development of seaports played a secondary role to industrial development. The master plan stipulates six port groups. It must be underlined that comments and recommendation of various companies and of the VBF subgroup were taken into consideration and incorporated. More emphasis was put on enhancing the infrastructure and development of channels, access roads and connection of regional ports.
Management and administration mechanisms that are applied in Vietnam considerably differ from those in other countries. In other parts of the world, local governments take responsibility to manage and control local ports, in Vietnam however, it falls within the scope of responsibility of the central Government. Therefore, the connection of different terminals into a big port seems to be practically challenging and will take some time before relevant legal framework is ready.