Workers spray disinfectant at Hà Nội Railway Station. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The transport industry has promoted the maritime transport segment and sped up the implementation of public investment projects to offset losses in road, railway and aviation transport segments due to the pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the railway and aviation segments reported negative growth in 2021 due to the impacts of the pandemic.

The ministry’s Vietnam Railways failed to meet yearly growth targets in 2021 as its revenue and profit declined by 16.3 per cent and 47.2 per cent, respectively, against 2020.

The aviation transport segment also faced big losses this year as its international passenger transport declined by 93 per cent compared to 2020.

According to Phạm Việt Dũng, chairman of the Vietnam Aviation Business Association, only from the latest outbreak of the pandemic alone, the revenue of airlines fell 80-90 per cent.

To offset the difficulties, the Ministry of Transport has promoted the maritime transport segment.

Nguyễn Đình Việt, deputy director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, said thanks to the proactive implementation of many solutions, the total volume of goods through Việt Nam's seaport system was estimated at more than 703 million tonnes in 2021, up 2 per cent compared to 2020. Of the total, the volume of export goods made up more than 184 million tonnes, up 4 per cent, and the volume of domestic goods rose 5 per cent.

Notably, the Ministry of Transport has come up with many solutions to promote the implementation of public investment projects in 2021.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Duy Lâm said the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Transport to implement the disbursement of about VNĐ43.4 trillion for public investment projects in 2021. It is estimated the ministry will meet more than 95 per cent of the assigned tasks by the end of January 2022, meeting the Government's plan. The results will help the Ministry of Transport to be among the few ministries and agencies gaining the highest disbursement rate in the country.

By the end of December 2021, the ministry had completed 14 projects and started 18 other projects, including the North-South Expressway and Cát Linh-Hà Đông Urban Railway.

In 2022, the Ministry of Transport is assigned by the Prime Minister to implement projects in the country’s medium-term public investment plan worth a total of more than VNĐ50 trillion.

To meet the target, Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thể recently requested the establishment of a special working group to boost the disbursement of public investment capital for projects in the transport sector.

The Minister asked agencies and units under the Ministry of Transport, heads of investors and project management boards to determine that accelerating the disbursement of public investment capital was one of the key political tasks of this year to promote economic growth and achieve the highest socio-economic development goals in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The working group will develop a detailed working outline, assign specific tasks to each member and immediately implement the tasks after being established. — VNS