Ho Chi Minh City is seeking to develop more waterway tourism products in combination with passenger transport given the sector’s huge potential.

The Ho Chi Minh City Departments of Transport and Tourism, alongside enterprises in the city, discussed plans to develop waterway passenger transport and tourism during the 2023-25 period at a conference on Thursday.

The city will launch many waterway routes during the period, including one from Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao Island off neighboring Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The route will stretch some 260 kilometers and is slated to begin operations in 2024.

A company has registered to operate the route and is currently building a ship with a capacity of 1,100 passengers for operation on the route.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities will also develop a waterway route to Go Cong Dong District in neighboring Tien Giang Province.

Several other inter-provincial routes are also under revision.

The municipal Department of Transport also proposed upgrading infrastructure for the operation of waterway routes from Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 to District 7 and Thanh Da Station in Binh Thanh District.

Ho Chi Minh City has 101 waterway routes which measure a total length of 913 kilometers, according to the department.

The city also has four main rivers connecting adjacent provinces, such as Binh Duong, Long An, Dong Nai, Tien Giang, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, as well as Mekong Delta localities.

Ho Chi Minh City is currently operating river bus route No. 1 which connects Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 with Linh Dong Ward in Thu Duc District, and another route from Bach Dang to outlying Cu Chi District and neighboring Binh Duong Province.

International passenger vessels can make port calls to Nha Rong Harbor and Bach Dang Wharf in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

The National Assembly has approved a new resolution with special policies for Ho Chi Minh City which is expected to create breakthroughs in the city’s waterway infrastructure development, Bui Hoa An, deputy director of the municipal Department of Transport, said at the conference.

“If we do well, Ho Chi Minh City can foster the riverside economy and waterway transport development and help ease pressure on roads,” the official added.

Many enterprises attending the conference shared the view that the low vertical clearance of bridges spanning the Saigon River and the shortage of stations and other facilities have hindered waterway tourism development in the city.

An Son Lam, a representative of Indochina Cruise which operates out of Nha Rong Harbor, said most of cruise ships cannot pass through the Saigon and Thu Thiem 2 bridges due to their low vertical clearance.

He proposed that the city increase the vertical clearance of bridges to meet the demand in the next tens of years.

Nguyen Kim Toan, director of Thuong Nhat Co. Ltd., the investor of the river bus route No. 1, agreed that infrastructure is the key of many issues, including tourism development.

In response, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport informed that it had surveyed dozens of sites for ship parking.

Planned bridge projects in the city, including Thu Thiem 4, will be designed to allow ships with a height of 10-12 meters each to pass through.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!