Shifting from road to inland waterway transport — "Green corridor" lowers freight costs and emissions.

Restructuring transportation flows from a strategic perspective.

At the 7th Regional Logistics Forum in 2026, held in Hai Phong, government leaders issued landmark directives on reorganizing the economic and transportation space. In his keynote address, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung emphasized: "The thinking on logistics development must shift strongly from administrative boundaries to economic regions, economic corridors, and supply chains." Government leaders requested the development of logistics infrastructure in line with national transportation planning, particularly increasing connectivity between different modes of transport and the seaport system to reduce logistics costs for the economy.

Currently, Vietnam's logistics service industry maintains an average growth rate of 14–16% per year, contributing approximately 4.5–5% to the national GDP. However, Vietnam's logistics costs remain high, accounting for about 16–17% of GDP. The biggest "bottleneck" lies in the imbalance between transportation modes: road transport currently handles 70–85% of the total volume of goods in circulation and is responsible for 85% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the entire transport sector. Meanwhile, more environmentally friendly modes of transport such as rail account for less than 2%, and the potential of inland waterways has not been exploited to its full potential.

The economic dilemma: When barges "replace" tractor trailers.

From a transportation economics perspective, shifting the method of cargo transport from road to inland waterway brings significant benefits in terms of both freight costs and emission reductions. A survey of container traffic between Que Vo inland Port ( Bac Ninh ) and Lach Huyen deep-water port (Hai Phong) reveals a valuable comparison: A 96 TEU barge transporting a 20-foot container consumes only about 10 liters of fuel, while using a road tractor consumes up to 45 liters. Thanks to this significantly lower fuel consumption, barge transport helps reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80%.

Considering the same volume and distance, road transport consumes approximately 32 liters of fuel per ton of cargo, while inland waterway transport only consumes 12 liters per ton. In terms of transportation infrastructure, a single medium-sized barge (54 TEU) docking at a port can free up the equivalent of 54 tractor-trailer trucks on the road, directly reducing the pressure of overloading, congestion, and the risk of damage to road infrastructure.

Analyzing the effectiveness of this transition, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), affirmed: "Among transportation methods, waterways and railways have high transport efficiency when compared with the same amount of fuel consumed. Therefore, switching to using and exploiting the transport capacity of these means will contribute to reducing carbon emissions." Mr. Hai also noted that green logistics is an "economic shield" that helps businesses cut long-term costs and enhance their ability to respond to fluctuations in global fuel prices.

Hai Phong and the Northern waterway corridor: "Leverage" from infrastructure and policies

In the logistics structure of the Red River Delta region, Hai Phong city holds a leading position as a growth hub for industry, services, and logistics, possessing the Lach Huyen deep-water port complex and a regional transportation network. To encourage businesses to shift their transportation routes, Hai Phong has implemented a crucial financial leverage policy: a 50% reduction in fees for using port infrastructure and utility services for containers transported by inland waterways. This policy is considered a direct economic boost, creating momentum for import-export businesses in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Thai Nguyen to increase the use of barges to transport goods to seaports.

According to the Inland Waterway Infrastructure Development Plan for the period 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050, Vietnam aims for a cargo volume of 715 million tons transported by inland waterways by 2030. To realize this goal, nine key waterway transport corridors have been planned, including four corridors in the northern region responsible for connecting hinterland industrial centers with the Hai Phong seaport gateway.

Alongside the expansion of shipping routes, port infrastructure is also being transformed towards smart and green practices. Many seaports in Hai Phong are implementing "green port" and "semi-automatic port" models and building a digital ISP ecosystem connecting data between port authorities, customs, quarantine agencies, and transportation units, helping to shorten ship turnaround times and reduce waiting times for vessels.

Removing institutional and financial resource bottlenecks.

Despite its significant benefits, the shift to inland waterway transport still faces certain bottlenecks. Intermodal connectivity between waterways and railways with the seaport system is still lacking in synchronization; and specialized inland waterway terminals for container transport in industrial zones have not been fully developed.

To encourage economic entities to participate in greening transportation flows, the business community and experts recommend that the State should soon finalize specific support policies. These should prioritize research into preferential value-added tax (VAT) policies for waterway transportation services, preferential corporate income tax for providers of green waterway services, and the opening of preferential credit packages to support businesses in electrifying or converting waterways to run on clean energy.

In terms of state management, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung also directed ministries and agencies to continue reviewing and improving the legal framework related to waterways and multimodal transport in a way that is clear, transparent, simplifies administrative procedures, and facilitates the sharing of digitized data, creating maximum convenience for the circulation of goods.

The shift from road to inland waterway transport is not simply a change in transportation methods, but a strategic move in restructuring the transport economy. The combination of the government's institutional coordination, infrastructure leverage policies from localities like Hai Phong, and the proactive efforts of businesses will transform inland waterways into true "green corridors," lowering logistics costs and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods in the global supply chain.

Source: https://vtv.vn/chuyen-dich-tu-duong-bo-sang-duong-thuy-noi-dia-hanh-lang-xanh-ha-chi-phi-cuoc-va-phat-thai-1002609231622597.htm