18 March 2025

With the implementation of synchronous and effective solutions, along with support from the Central Government, it is expected that Quang Nam will soon become a new logistics destination, not only in the Central region but also in the extended Mekong sub-region...

Advantages from strategic location

With a strategic location in the Central Key Economic Zone and a gateway to the sea for the Central Highlands, Central and Southern Laos provinces, Quang Nam possesses great potential to develop into a logistics center in the region.

Geographical advantages and increasingly complete infrastructure systems such as Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, dozens of industrial parks and clusters, and a diverse transportation system (road, waterway, railway, aviation and seaport) have created a solid foundation for Quang Nam to develop logistics services, effectively connecting industries and fields.

In recent years, the locality has actively invested in infrastructure and issued policies to promote logistics development. For example, recently, Truong Hai Group Corporation (THACO) inaugurated a 50,000-ton port at Chu Lai International Port, with a total investment of VND 1,590 billion. This project not only meets import and export needs but also aims to turn Chu Lai into an important trading hub and logistics center, connecting the Central Highlands, Southern Laos and Northern Cambodia, contributing to reducing transportation costs and increasing competitiveness for goods in the Central region.

Chu Lai International Port also plays the role of a multimodal transport center, connecting roads, sea routes, railways and Chu Lai airport. To expand services, THACO has established Indochina Transport Company, developing cross-border road transport, bringing goods to Chu Lai before distributing to domestic and foreign markets.

Quang Nam has great potential to develop into a regional logistics center.

According to Mr. Tran Ba ​​Duong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of THACO, with the planning of Quang Nam province until 2030, the formation of a local logistics center is completely feasible, especially when the Cua Lo route and the access channel to Ky Ha Port (Nui Thanh district) are invested and completed, creating conditions for large ships to easily dock, significantly reducing logistics costs.

Along with the seaport system, Chu Lai Airport is also planned to expand, becoming a 4E-class international airport with a capacity of 5 to 10 million passengers/year in the period of 2021-2030, and towards 40 million passengers/year by 2050. Combined with that is an aviation logistics center, an aircraft training and maintenance center, a duty-free zone, etc. to form a multi-industry logistics complex in Chu Lai. At the same time, the province also has a policy to build a logistics center in the Nam Giang International Border Gate Economic Zone, serving the transportation of goods from Laos and Thailand to Vietnam.

In parallel with infrastructure investment, Quang Nam has issued a plan to improve the logistics efficiency index, to support import-export enterprises, creating conditions to attract investment in industrial parks and economic zones.

Focus on removing "bottlenecks"
However, according to experts, logistics activities in Quang Nam are still not commensurate with its potential. Although the maritime sector has developed quite well, roads and aviation still have many "bottlenecks". National Highway 14D connecting Laos has not been invested synchronously, Chu Lai Airport is slow to be upgraded. In particular, although Nam Giang border gate has been upgraded to an international border gate, the infrastructure is not yet complete, border trade services have not developed, the power grid is unstable... affecting the development of logistics services.

In addition, logistics services in Quang Nam also face many challenges such as lack of connectivity in transport infrastructure, limited application of information technology, small number of logistics enterprises, small scale, and failure to attract large corporations in this field.

Nam Giang international border gate connects Quang Nam with neighboring Laos.

Faced with that reality, experts believe that Quang Nam needs more drastic solutions to develop logistics, focusing on completing key traffic routes such as the North-South Expressway, National Highways 14D and 14E connecting Nam Giang international border gate. Along with that, the province needs to proactively coordinate with central ministries, branches and provinces and cities in the region to build breakthrough policy mechanisms, attract large investors, form an inter-regional logistics network, and clearly assign the role of each locality in the service supply chain.

With the right orientation, Quang Nam also aims to implement three strategic tasks: developing synchronous infrastructure, improving the quality of human resources and strongly improving the investment and business environment. These are considered key pillars to realize the dream of turning Quang Nam into the logistics center of the Central region.

Recently, to resolve the difficulties, Quang Nam has proposed to the Prime Minister to allow the locality to propose specific mechanisms and policies to build and develop Quang Nam province, emphasizing support for key projects such as developing seaport clusters, logistics, duty-free zones in Chu Lai and preferential policies for strategic investors in the logistics sector.

The synchronous and effective solutions implemented, along with support from the Central Government, believe that Quang Nam will soon become a new destination for logistics, not only in the Central region but also in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

Source: Thoi bao Ngan Hang