BẮC NINH — The Tri Phương River Port Project was launched on Wednesday in Tiên Du District, Bắc Ninh Province, with Bắc Kì Investment Joint Stock Company as its main investor.

The project is expected to handle the imports and exports of five northern provinces including Bắc Ninh, Bắc Giang, Thái Nguyên, Vĩnh Phúc and Hà Nội, using waterway containers, reducing delivery time and easing the pressure on road traffic.

The port located on the 2.5ha area has the capacity to handle barges of 900TEUs and four 120TEUs. The total capacity is 200,000TEUs per year. Moreover, there will be 100 tractors taking charge of transferring goods to and from the port. A custom authority will also be established to directly process documents related to goods being imported and exported.

Tri Phương River Port helps connect the coastal city of Hải Phòng with five northern provinces that host the factories of major manufacturers including Samsung, Foxconn, Toyota, Canon and Honda.  

In 2016, the volume of imports and exports from these five localities accounted for some 50 per cent of the total goods volume transiting through Hải Phòng City Port.

Moreover, Tri Phương Port is an extended project of ICD Tiên Sơn Logistics Centre in Tiên Sơn Industrial Zone, Bắc Ninh Province, aiming to offer comprehensive service packages, including multimodal transportation, warehousing and customs declaration services.

The charges offered are competitive, 20 to 25 per cent lower than the fees of road transportation.

This allows customers to receive goods during the day by storing containers at Tri Phương Port instead of having to order goods at least one day in advance because of containers being stored at Hải Phong Port.

It also helps shorten the delivery time of exports because the distance from the factories to Tri Phương Port is less than the distance to Hải Phòng City. The port contributes to reductions in traffic congestion and pressure on National Highways Nos. 5 and 18 as well as reducing the number of roads connecting northern provinces and Hải Phòng.

Nguyễn Trần Hiếu, director of Bắc Kì company, told the Vietnam News Agency that the initial investment in the project amounted to VNĐ170 billion. On the day of the launch, three customers registered to use the port when it is completed.

“These companies signed the memorandums of understanding on exploiting the port with Bắc Kì company when the port goes into operation at the end of July,” Hiếu said. — VNS