Cai Mep Ha Logistics Center: Vietnam’s key to global trade

Statistics of the past three years reveal that the average cargo volume through Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province’s seaport system has exceeded 110 million tonnes annually, including more than 8 million TEUs of container cargo. These figures represent approximately 15 percent of the country’s total cargo and about 34 percent of the total container volume passing through the national seaport system.

However, the province currently has only 22 specialized logistics warehouses with a total area of 256ha, mostly concentrated in Phu My Town. These primarily comprise warehouses serving bulk and general cargo, with only five facilities capable of container storage. Beyond their scarcity, these warehouses operate in a fragmented manner, with small-scale operations and outdated operational and management technologies, resulting in suboptimal efficiency.

Notably, despite the substantial cargo volume moving through the port, the province lacks a world-class logistics center, relegating local businesses in this sector to merely serving as satellite service providers for enterprises in neighboring provinces. The majority of export cargo still undergoes container stuffing, inspection, and customs clearance at ICDs (inland container depots) in other provinces before being transported by barge to mother vessels at Cai Mep - Thi Vai Port.

To address these weaknesses in one of its four economic pillars, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province is actively considering the Cai Mep Ha Logistics Center model, encompassing over 1,686ha. This includes a logistics center spanning more than 891ha, the Cai Mep Ha downstream port covering approximately 594ha, and the waterfront area.

This center will facilitate the reception, transshipment, storage, preliminary processing, packaging, and distribution of goods to domestic and international destinations via sea, inland waterway, and road transport. It will also offer customs, border control, quarantine, financial, banking, hospitality, and other services.

Experts consider this area one of the best remaining locations in Vietnam for a regional and world-class port complex due to its favorable climate, minimal storm impact, and year-round operational capacity. The area also boasts natural deep-water channels and ideal width for accommodating ultra-large vessels. Cai Mep-Thi Vai is currently the only port in Southern Vietnam with direct shipping routes to Europe and America.

Experts believe that establishing a free trade zone linked to the seaport at Cai Mep Ha area is essential for further developing Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s port system. This free trade zone is not only aimed at attracting investment through preferential policies but also at achieving greater local autonomy and empowering dynamic and innovative policy implementation.

Surveys reveal that Vietnam’s management and supervision policies for transshipment goods and containers are stricter than those of regional countries, deterring foreign ship owners and cargo owners from transshipping goods through Vietnamese ports. More open mechanisms are needed to enhance the competitiveness of ports like Cai Mep-Thi Vai.

According to Ba Ria - Vung Tau’s provincial planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, the province will focus on developing the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster to Southeast Asian standards by 2030, competing directly with its counterparts in Singapore and Malaysia, and aspiring to achieve world-class hub port status by 2045.

Resolution No.24-NQ/TW by the Politburo in 2022 on socio-economic development and national security assurance for the Southeast region through 2030, with a vision to 2045, has also prioritized “Establishing a port-linked Free Trade Zone in the Cai Mep Ha area” in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province as a key objective to promote both provincial and regional socio-economic development.

Secretary Pham Viet Thanh of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province Party Committee stated that progressing toward establishing a port-linked free trade zone represents a strategic step in completing the Southeast region's logistics infrastructure, synchronizing with Long Thanh International Airport and Cai Mep - Thi Vai Deep-water Port.

This will create absolute competitive advantages, revitalize existing momentum, generate new impetus, and attract investment along the East-West economic corridor from Moc Bai to Cai Mep - Thi Vai.

Critical inter-regional transportation routes, including the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway and Phuoc An Bridge connecting to the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway as well as several intra-provincial roads linking industrial zones, are being actively developed by Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. Additionally, early research into implementing the Bien Hoa - Cai Mep railway connection to the national rail system is essential for reducing road cargo pressure.