Mr Bui Thien Thu (right) presents a gift to Mr Tee Chee Seng.                                       --Photo Bee

Vientiane Logistics Park, Vietnamese officials offer joint effort for logistics, transport links

The developer of the Vientiane Logistics Park and Thanaleng Dry Port (TDP) and Vietnamese officials have expressed their shared intention to realise logistics and transport links as agreed by the governments of the two countries.
Administrator of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, Mr Bui Thien Thu, on Friday led a delegation to visit the logistics park and its associated dry port, which are being developed in the Lao capital Vientiane.
The country’s first-ever integrated logistics park and dry port is part of the packaged Lao Logistics Link (LLL) project, which also includes the Vung Ang seaport in Vietnam’s central Ha Tinh province and a planned railway linking the seaport to Vientiane.
The Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade) has been authorised to partner with the Lao and Vietnamese governments to develop and operate the LLL project.
Welcoming the guests, Vientiane Logistics Park Co., Ltd. Vice President Tee Chee Seng said the logistics park and dry port are part of Laos’ connectivity strategy and offer cost-effective logistics and transport services. 

Mr Bui Thien Thu, Mr Tee Chee Seng and representatives of both sides gather for a group photo.                                       --Photo Bee

Open for services since December 4, 2021, the logistics park and dry port facilitate the flow of goods between China and Southeast Asian countries and even reach European markets through railway systems.
Mr Tee Chee Seng said this system will link to the Vung Ang seaport, which will eventually enable Laos to become a transit point for goods from all over the world.
TDP’s Managing Director Sakhone Philangam said joint operation of the Vung Ang Seaport, in which the Vietnamese government has agreed to increase Laos’ share to 60 percent, was a worthwhile investment. He explained that cost-effective services provided by this transport route would result in more business at the deep seaport.
According to the plan, the Lao and Vietnamese developers will invest US$300 million in the upgrade of facilities, machinery and equipment at the port to meet the growing need for cargo transport. 
A marketing study conducted by the consulting firm Royal HaskoningDHV and other sources showed that in 2014 the Vung Ang port handled 2.9 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo and 462 TEU containers. It is estimated that these volumes will rise to 20.2 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo and 240,460 TEU containers by 2030, according to a video presentation by the Lao investor.
Mr Sakhone, who previously managed transport companies in Myanmar and Vietnam, said the rail link and other projects within the LLL would supplementarily support the seaport’s cost-effective operations given that rail transport is cheaper.   
The seaport will also link to a planned dry port in Laos’ central Khammuan province, which is also part of the LLL, as well as the Thanaleng Dry Port, where a significant amount of freight is currently being handled.

The Thanaleng Dry Port in Vientiane.                        --Photo Bee

About 50 percent of products exported and imported through Laos are shifted through the Thanaleng Dry Port. Some 65 percent of goods are imports, 25 percent are exports, and the remaining 10 percent are in transit, according to Mr Sakhone.   
Over the first five months of this year, as many as 13,000 containers passed through the Thanaleng Dry Port, which houses extensions of the Laos-Thailand and Laos-China railways.
Currently, the Laos-China Railway operates two round-trip freight trains a day out of the full capacity of 14 round trips a day.
Mr Sakhone said the dry port, which provides multimodal transport facilities that link with various logistics centres in the region, facilitates transit services between countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China.
Many Thai business operators have visited the dry port to learn first-hand about the opportunities being provided thanks to its cost-effective services, he added.
“Many multinational companies have expressed their intention to do business in the logistics park,” he told the visitors.
Mr Bui Thien Thu noted that the Vung Ang port is an important part of Laos’ efforts to become a regional transport link.
He advised the Lao developer to consider connecting to other Vietnamese ports including Danang, adding that it is Vietnam’s policy to facilitate the cross-border transport of goods from Laos through Vietnamese ports.
The Vietnamese side also offered assistance with human resource development in the fields of logistics and port operation, saying Vietnam’s universities are running such courses.
Head of the Vietnam Maritime University, Dr Pham Xuan Duong, said the managers of Vietnam’s many major logistics companies were graduates of the university.
“We are ready to help,” he said through an interpreter.
In addition to logistics and transport services, the Lao investor said they are developing other investment zones within the US$727 million project, which was researched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and is being built on a 382-hectare site in Vientiane.
These zones include an export processing zone, which is expected to become a manufacturing export hub for Southeast Asian countries and the global consumer market.
Manufacturers will enjoy trade privileges that major economies like the United States and Europe have extended to Laos.
In addition, the free trade zone will house the main business activities, including the HALAL hub and agriculture production park, technology park, office zone, SME area, and commercial zone.
According to the plan, the Lao developer envisions building Shenzhen-like and Hong Kong-like shopping hubs.

By Advertorial Desk
 (Latest Update August 23, 2022)