Vietnam should seek every possible way to promote its marine advantages and potential as well as make the best use of investment sources to develop seaport infrastructure to meet future demands of growth and development. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai made this statement while attending the 7 th Congress of the Vietnam Sea Port Association (VPA), which opened in the northern city of Hai Phong on September 8.
The two-day congress has drawn the participation of more than 200 delegates from over 50 seaport businesses nationwide.
"Creating favourable mechanisms for port development is necessary to promote the efficiency of investment sources," Hai stressed.
In the future, VPA should continue taking measures to stabilise seaport service prices and amend several customs procedures in order to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese seaports, he said.
The association was also urged to actively participate in activities of ASEAN and international seaport associations.
Established 16 years ago, VPA now has a network of 53 port members, which handled nearly 172 million tonnes of cargo in 2009, up 20 percent over the previous year./. |
