Tourism ships are allowed to dock at the Ho Chi Minh City-based Bach Dang Wharf until the end of this month, the municipal administration said Friday in an 11th-hour decision, one day after the license of the port expired.

Bach Dang Wharf, located in the city’s downtown and open to the Saigon River, is where vessels operated by travel firms and floating restaurants dock to serve passengers and tourists.

The wharf had its license expired on Thursday and travel firms would not be allowed to operate their ships to and from there if it is unlicensed.

Tourism businesses had repeatedly called on the city’s administration to extend the deadline so that they have more time to find a new port for operations.

The wharf is now allowed to open for another fortnight, and by January 31, the tourism ship operators must find new locations to continue their business, a source close to the matter quoted the municipal administration as saying.

Tourists can depart from the Bach Dang Wharf to various places such as Thanh Da peninsula, the Cu Chi tunnels, or the Garden House in District 9.

In late December, the municipal transport department ruled that the city would no longer license Bach Dang Wharf as of January 1 when the old license expired on December 31.

The wharf should stop operating to be revamped, according to the ministry.

With businesses complaining that they were unable to find a new port in such a short time, the city’s administration then extended the deadline to January 15, before approving the second extension on Friday.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has called on the administration to allow tourism businesses to dock their ships at the Saigon Port in District 4, when the port is relocated in 2016.

Whether tourism vessels will continue to be allowed to operate at the face-lifted Bach Dang Wharf will also be determined by the city’s administration, according to the transport ministry.

Saigontourist, a state-run tour organizer, announced in June 2014 it will collaborate with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture to turn Bach Dang Wharf into an amusement park to boost tourism.

The project also aims at clearing unauthorized street vendors and motorbike parking services in the area.

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