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Logistics Services Need a Roadmap for Integration (5/4)
05/04/2011 - 17 Lượt xem
The general secretary of NCIEC and deputy minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said that economic integration requires Vietnam to bring into full play of advantages in labor allocation and international cooperation to enhance the country competitiveness and overcome disadvantages in economic integration. The marine economy and seaports should be further boosted in terms of research undertaking and exploitation.
Logistics development
As seaports are considered an important chain in logistics development, the shortage/weakness of seaport and post-seaport logistics services will have a serious impact on logistics activity. Deputy Minister of Transportation Nguyen Hong Truong said that logistics cover a series of activities that have a close relation with each other; the efficiency of logistics is significant and decisive to the competitiveness of industrial and trade sectors in every country. In developed countries such as the United States and Japan, logistics costs often only account for 10 to 13 percent of a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The figure ranges from 15 percent to 20 percent in developing countries and more than 30 percent in underdeveloped countries.
The development of the logistics sector plays an important role as it ensures the smooth operation of production and business to meet the requirements of other service types in terms of duration and quality. A well-developed logistics sector will reduce costs and raise product quality. The logistics sector is currently recognized as a major economic function, an effective tool for the success of enterprises in production and service fields. In Vietnam, logistics services are in their development stage. Statistics shows that total logistics costs occupy 25 percent of the country GDP of which transportation accounts for almost 50 percent to 60 percent.
For years, Vietnam has allocated a large percentage of its state budget and ODA capital to improving transportation infrastructure in order to create favorable conditions for the development of logistics services and cargo transport. The rapid development of transportation infrastructure in the last few years has made a great contribution to the transportation sector and acted as premise for supply chain development. Some projects were operational in 2009-2010 such as the SP-SPA port that enables 2,000 DWT vessels to land, the Cai Mep Thuong that enables 8,000-10,000 DWT ships to arrive.
However, logistics services in Vietnam have shown weaknesses and shortcomings. Nguyen Hong Truong said that more than 800 logistics businesses in Vietnam have only met one quarter of the domestic demand. There has a big gap regarding the qualification of domestic and foreign businesses. He said that Vietnamese logistics businesses are almost all small in size and these businesses operate on their own rather than cooperating with other businesses.
In addition, incomprehensive infrastructure has challenged logistics development, which has raised logistics costs higher than the costs in other countries. High investment costs have resulted in profit reduction and limited possibility of service expansion for logistics businesses. Seaports have shown their limitations because sea wharfs are mostly multi-functional and specialized seaports; the lack of container seaports has prevented ships with capacity of more than 5,000 DWT from landing. In addition, e-logistics development has not been paid much attention and the role of the state has not been clearly defined.
Methods to develop logistics services
Dr. Aloysius, a Singaporean senior logistics consultant said that three factors are needed to carry out the strategy to develop logistics services and seaports; firstly, the commitment of the government and the private sector such as tax preferences for approved international shipping enterprises (AIS); tax preferences for approved domestic shipping and logistics enterprises (ASL); Maritime Finance Incentive (MFI); manpower support and business development from the Maritime Cluster Fund (MCF); tax preferences for The Ship Broking and Forward Freight Agreement Trading Services (SB&FFA). Secondly, it is necessary to build airports, petrochemical centers, supply centers and cold storages. Finally, there should have connection between the government and enterprises to develop human resources while enhancing knowledge and qualification of local maritime officers through approved training courses.
At the forum, many delegates said that to develop logistics services, Vietnam should pay attention to completing intensive and extensive human resources, developing transportation infrastructure, enhancing the application of information technology in logistics services, strengthening the role and close collaboration of related associations, and building and implementing a roadmap to rapidly develop logistics services in ASEAN.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province takes the lead in logistics
At the forum, Tran Minh Sanh, the chairman of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province People's Committee said that developing logistics and seaports is necessary to transform the province become a seaport urban city in the future. It is necessary to develop a consensus among central ministries and sectors as well as local sectors regarding investment policy, implementation mechanisms and investor determination to carry out the logistics and seaport development strategy. Given advice from leading experts in the logistics and seaport sector, real experience of enterprises, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province will receive practical and feasible solutions to develop its logistics and seaport sector in the upcoming time.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Vo Dai Luoc, to take the lead in logistics services and seaport sector, the coastal area of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province including the seaports should be planned by a leading international consultancy corporation that is approved by the Prime Minister, combined with a special economic zone should be built in parallel with seaports in order to attract domestic and foreign investors. In the mean time, an open mechanism and a modern and efficient management system are in need. In the long term, Vung Tau City can be built based on the Republic of Korea's Inchon international urban city model. A united management board should be established to manage all aspects of the seaport while an uninterrupted transport route should be built across the Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau./.
Source: VIR.
