HCMC – The southern province of Dong Nai has many advantages in building and developing inland container depots (ICD), but many ICD projects, which had been approved, have yet to be implemented.
The province is home to 13 rivers and canals with a total length exceeding 2,300 kilometers, while the demand for waterway transport is huge, thereby suitable for developing ICDs.
Since 2018, the province has received the Ministry of Transport’s nod to plan and build eight ICDs, with three in Bien Hoa City, two in Nhon Trach District, and the remainder in Long Thanh, Trang Bom, and Long Khanh. These ICDs have a container throughput of 3.4-4.3 million TEUs, meeting the demand to transport goods to seaports in HCMC and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
Up to now, however, only two ICDs have received investment and showed effective operations. They are the 105-hectare ICD Tan Cang-Long Binh in Bien Hoa City and the 11-hectare ICD Tan Cang-Nhon Trach in Nhon Trach District.
The remaining six ICD projects have not been completed. The sluggish progress was attributed to the inadequate transportation system, the lack of interport roads, and many other obstacles facing the projects, such as investment procedures, site clearance, and compensation.
The ICD Phuoc An project in Nhon Trach District, for instance, was approved in 2009. The 180-hectare depot was meant to receive general ships and containers of up to 60,000DWT, including 10 berths. However, an area to build the Phuoc An port is currently situated amid a vast paddy field, with only 5-7 workers reportedly leveling aquaculture ponds there and some tents for workers to stay in. Tens of hectares of the ponds have yet to be leveled, reported Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.
In 2020, the provincial government approved the ICD Long Thanh project in the district of the same name. The 22-hectare port was planned to be developed by Long Thanh Logistics and Warehouse JSC to serve the delivery and transport of goods and store import-export items. To date, the project has not been implemented.
Le Quang Binh, director of the provincial Department of Transport, said the department is coordinating with consulting units to select more appropriate locations to develop the planned ICDs so that they will be on par with other road, rail, and air projects that are or will be under construction.
