Quang Tri on the threshold of becoming the logistics center of the Central region

Currently, Quang Tri is gradually asserting its position as a “strategic node” in the supply chain and logistics services. With its special geographical advantages, increasingly complete infrastructure system, and open policies in attracting investment, Quang Tri has emerged as a locality with great potential for logistics development, effectively connecting domestic and international economic regions.

Potential and advantages

Quang Tri is considered one of the localities with a particularly important geo-economic position in the country. Located on the North-South axis, with National Highway 1A, railway, Ho Chi Minh road and North-South expressway passing through, the province is the convergence point of strategic transport routes. More importantly, Quang Tri is the eastern gateway of the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), connecting Myanmar, Thailand, Laos with the East Sea through two international border gates Lao Bao and La Lay.

This advantage helps Quang Tri become a "trade hub" of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and at the same time plays a central role in connecting goods from Laos and Northeastern Thailand to the sea via Vietnam. Quang Tri has the opportunity to become the most important international logistics gateway in Central Vietnam, if it synchronously exploits factors of infrastructure, policies and resources.

In addition to the border gate advantage, Quang Tri possesses a long coastline, which has favorable conditions for developing seaports and coastal logistics centers. Currently, Cua Viet Port and Hon La Port are operating effectively, taking on the task of transporting goods within the region; at the same time, the My Thuy Deepwater Port project with a total investment of tens of thousands of billions of VND is being accelerated. When completed, this port will be able to receive 100,000 DWT ships, serving as an international cargo transit center in the Central region.

Perspective of My Thuy deep-water port, Quang Tri

The traffic system connecting the seaport and the border gate is also being completed. National Highway 9 (connecting Lao Bao - Dong Ha - Cua Viet), National Highway 15D (La Lay - My Thuy), National Highway 12A (connecting Cha Lo - Hon La) and the North - South Expressway form a complete traffic network, helping goods to circulate quickly from the border gate to the seaport, reducing transportation costs and customs clearance time.

Along with that, the province has been investing in large-scale logistics centers and logistics zones. The Logistics and Logistics Service Center Project in the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone has an investment capital of more than VND 2,000 billion, an area of ​​nearly 71 hectares, is an important step to form a closed logistics service chain serving the entire North Central region.

Currently, investment incentive mechanisms in Quang Tri are being built in an open and transparent manner; the province gives special priority to enterprises investing in the fields of multimodal transport, green logistics, warehousing services and supply chain management. In addition, Quang Tri is coordinating with domestic and foreign partners to study the possibility of building a free trade zone (FTZ) to fully exploit the advantage of the "East Sea gateway" of the trans-Asian economic corridor.

Realizing the vision

Quang Tri has identified logistics development as one of the four economic pillars. This orientation is consistent with the trend of shifting global supply chains, in which the Central region is emerging as a potential area to replace overloaded logistics centers in Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang.

To make the most of this advantage, Quang Tri needs to continue to invest in synchronous transport infrastructure, complete the system of seaports, dry ports, and warehouses; promote training of logistics human resources, and apply modern supply chain management technology. Developing logistics in a "green" direction - reducing carbon emissions, increasing rail and waterway transport - is also a direction in line with the province's sustainable growth strategy in the coming period.

With clearly identified potentials and strategic advantages, Quang Tri province is facing a great opportunity to break through and strongly develop the logistics industry - a field considered the "bloodline" of the modern economy. However, to turn potential into reality, there needs to be synchronous and sustainable solutions that are both long-term in vision and suitable to the actual conditions of the locality.

Infrastructure is a prerequisite for all logistics activities. Quang Tri needs to continue to invest heavily in the connecting transport system, especially National Highway 15D connecting La Lay international border gate with My Thuy deep-water port - the province's most important cross-border transport corridor. When this route is completed, goods from Laos and Thailand can be transported directly to the East Sea without going through intermediaries, shortening logistics time and costs.

Along with that, the My Thuy Port project needs to be accelerated to soon become an international cargo transit center. This is a large-scale deep-water port, capable of receiving ships of up to 100,000 tons, directly serving the import and export of goods for the North Central region and the Mekong sub-region countries. The synchronous connection between My Thuy Port, Cua Viet Port, Hon La Port, industrial parks and economic zones of the province will form a multimodal transport network - creating a modern and effective coastal logistics axis.

One of the important directions is to form the Logistics Service Center and Logistics Center of the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone with a scale of more than 70 hectares, total investment capital of more than 2,000 billion VND. This will be the "nucleus" of the logistics chain in the Central region, taking on the role of gathering, storing, and distributing goods for the region and internationally. The province also needs to soon plan warehouses, container terminals, and dry ports in strategic locations such as Cha Lo, Lao Bao, La Lay, Cua Viet, Hon La, and My Thuy.

Along with infrastructure investment, Quang Tri needs to reform administrative procedures, simplify customs clearance processes at international border gates, and effectively implement the "one-stop shop" mechanism between customs, industry and trade, transport and border guards.

The province should also issue specific preferential policies for the logistics sector in terms of tax, land, infrastructure, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, it is necessary to focus on training high-quality logistics human resources, cooperating with universities and large domestic and foreign enterprises to form a team of experts and technicians with knowledge of supply chains, warehouse management, transportation, and digital transformation.

In the context of the digital economy, the application of technology is a condition to improve competitiveness. Quang Tri needs to deploy a transport management system (TMS), warehouse management system (WMS), track goods via QR codes and GPS, and build a province-wide logistics database connecting with provinces in the East-West economic corridor. In addition, moving towards green logistics is an inevitable trend. The province should encourage the development of environmentally friendly multimodal transport such as railways and inland waterways; increase the use of clean energy, and reduce carbon emissions in the transport - warehousing chain.

Quang Tri needs to promote its role as a “bridge” between Vietnam and Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar within the framework of the expanded East-West Economic Corridor, and at the same time link up with the central provinces such as Da Nang, Hue City, Ha Tinh, and Nghe An to form a unified logistics chain in the central region, avoiding fragmented and localized investment. Through international cooperation programs, investment promotion, and ASEAN logistics forums, Quang Tri can promote the image of a dynamic, safe locality, ready to become a strategic transit point in the region.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/quang-tri-truoc-nguong-cua-tro-thanh-trung-tam-logistics-cua-mien-trung-217041.html