WB approves US$107 million to enhance Viet Nam's waterway transport

Southern Viet Nam's Mekong Delta is the leading agricultural and aquaculture region of Viet Nam for both domestic consumption and exports.

The newly approved Southern Waterway Corridors and Logistics Development Project aims to increase cargo volumes and reduce travel times along the vital East-West and North-South corridors.

The project will also link key Vietnamese manufacturing centers to country's main deep-sea port, enhancing export competitiveness.

Viet Nam's southern waterways hold immense potential as a cheaper, greener, and safer alternative for transport, said Mariam Sherman, WB Country Director for Viet Nam, Cambodia and Lao PDR.

This project directly supports Viet Nam's ambitious goals: boosting inland waterway transport's competitiveness, decarbonizing its transport sector, and ultimately enhancing the country's trade competitiveness, she added.

Upgrades to the East-West Corridor will reduce transport distance between the largest port in the Mekong Delta at Can Tho and the largest port by volume in Viet Nam at Ho Chi Minh City by about 30 percent.

North-South Corridor improvements will connect the Mekong Delta and its hinterlands directly to Viet Nam's main deep-sea port for international trade, reducing emissions and logistics costs.

Shifting more cargo onto inland waterways is critical for decarbonizing Viet Nam's transport sector. Road trucking, which contributes to about 80 percent of the transport sector's greenhouse gas emissions in Viet Nam, emits up to six times the carbon dioxide of waterways.

The project also introduces navigational aids and corrects sharp bends in the waterways, improving safety.

The project is expected to benefit farmers, businesses and their employees, vessel operators, and residents throughout southern Viet Nam./.