The Vietnam Seaports Association (VPA) proposed raising service fees at its annual meeting held in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on October 10.

Chairman of the VPA Le Cong Minh pointed out the uneven development of infrastructure and logistics services at seaports. 

He said while the amount of goods handled in the north and the Mekong Delta reduces, that in southern Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces increases and makes up nearly 60 percent of the country’s market shares.

Container goods via Cai Mep-Thi Vai (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), for example, rose by 21 percent in 2018 and 26 percent in the first half of 2019, he noted.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong agreed with the proposal of the VPA, saying Vietnamese seaport service fees are even lower than that of Cambodia.

He added that the ministry had worked with the Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to seek ways to address difficulties in the field.