Import-export activities at Hữu Nghị international border gate. VNA/VNS Photo

LẠNG SƠN — Functional forces on both sides of Hữu Nghị international border gate (Việt Nam) - Friendship Pass (China) have agreed to add two working hours per day to carry out timely customs clearance of goods and ease difficulties for Chinese exports and Vietnamese import enterprises.

Normally the functional forces work until 6pm every day, but now will work to 8pm, from March 17.

The Management Board of Đồng Đăng – Lạng Sơn Border Gate Economic Zone said the number of vehicles carrying import and export goods through Hữu Nghị international border gate has increased sharply from March 13 until now.

Nearly 800 vehicles per day on average carry import and export goods across the border, an increase of nearly 200 vehicles compared to the early days of March.

Trần Văn Nghĩa, Deputy Director of Hữu Nghị Customs Branch, said that the customs force has arranged more civil servants to staff the facility, and assigned officials to proactively notify businesses and shippers about the policy of increasing working hours. All these efforts are creating more favourable conditions to carry out customs clearance of goods.

Statistics from the functional forces show that boosting working hours and measures to channelise and regulate vehicles has helped increase the number of vehicles imported into Việt Nam by about 150 vehicles per day; on average, about 700 imported vehicles and about 80 exported vehicles per day.

The Chinese side has also reduced congestion. Proactively regulating goods early and remotely helps customs to timely complete clearance of goods.

Lạng Sơn provincial authorities recommended that businesses, shippers and drivers of the Vietnamese side with import and export goods cleared through the province's border gates regularly update their information on export-import at border gates by specialised agencies to regulate goods properly, thereby helping Lạng Sơn's border trade activities to be stable and fast, without congestion due to waiting. — VNS