PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the conference held in Hanoi on April 16 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – High logistics costs have become a major barrierfor businesses and reduced the competitiveness of the national economy, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a national conference in Hanoi on April 16 toseek ways to reduce logistic expenses and improve transport connectivity.
The asynchronous investment and poor connectivity result in highproduction costs, he said, adding that this is a challenge of many localities,especially those in the Mekong Delta region.
PM Phuc said over the past time, ministries and relevant agencies fromcentral to local levels have exerted efforts to improve logistic services.However, the expenses for logistic services remain high, leading to weakeconomic competitiveness, he added.
“We should find the best solutions to reducinglogistic costs for businesses,” the PM said, stressing the need to work out effectivemeasures to improve transport connectivity among ports, railway stations andairports.
The government leader tasked the Ministry of Transport and the Ministryof Industry and Trade to finalise legal policies on logistic services, improveinfrastructure and competitive edge for logistic firms, develop markets forlogistic services, and increase quality of logistic human resources.
The PM also requested the Ministry of Transport to address mattersrelating to technology and international relations to develop deep seaports andinland container depots (ICDs) and improve transportation via railways andinland waterways.
According to the World Bank, Vietnam ranked 64th amongst 160 countriesin the Logistics Performance Index in 2016. The Southeast Asian country’slogistic sector records an annual average growth rate of 14-16 percent.
However, the expenses for logistic services accounted for 20.9 percentof Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), of which transportation costs amountto 59 percent.
The shipping costs of a 40 feet container from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City(excluding loading and unloading costs) is estimated at 40 million VND (1,762USD), 9.7 times higher than that of sea routes and 2.5 times higher than thatof railways, according to Ministry of Transport.-VNA
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