A RECENT report by Singapore-based container shipping and logistics company, Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), has criticised Vietnam for its lack of investment in deepwater ports and landside infrastructure.
To fuel economic growth, NOL called for major improvements to be made in these areas, particularly as the rapidly emerging Asian nation achieved gross domestic product growth of 8.2 per cent last year and experts are forecasting higher growth for this year.
The report noted that owing to the absence of deepwater ports, Vietnam can only accommodate container ships no larger than short distance feeder vessels, which presently transport cargo to nearby Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore for loading on to larger ocean-going vessels that are able to travel over long distances, reports the Thanh Nien News.
"Most large shipping lines are taking a close interest in Vietnam after it joined the World Trade Organisation on January 1. The step appears to be creating a surge in trade similar to that experienced after China joined the organisation in 2001," the report said.
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