HCMC lacks docks for yachts

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 73 ports and harbors serving passenger and tourism transportation, out of more than 200 inland waterway ports operating in the area, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.

Among them, only a few such as Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 and Lan Anh Wharf in Thu Duc City have the necessary infrastructure and water space for large vessels and yachts to dock.

Nguyen Tran Huu Thang, General Secretary of the Thu Duc City Yacht Club, said the situation posed significant challenges for individuals and businesses owning yachts or speedboats.

With nearly 100 yachts and many personal speedboats in the city but ports are always fully occupied, which also significantly impacts the need for regular maintenance and repair of those vessels, Thang told a seminar in HCMC on Tuesday.

He also mentioned that limited mooring facilities posed a major obstacle for yacht sales and trial operation in the city.

Manufacturers delivering yachts must go to Thailand, which adds four days to the delivery process.

This not only consumes time and incurs additional costs but also dampens the investment interest of domestic and international businesses, said Thang.

“Therefore, focusing investment on professional yacht marinas is particularly urgent,” he said, adding that developing yacht mooring facilities would stimulate more services, helping to develop tourism and riverside economy.

Attending the seminar, Richard Ward, board chairman of Corsair Marine International, an Australian boat company, said that they entered HCMC’s market over a decade ago because of the city’s favorable conditions for shipbuilding and river tourism.

However, business expansion has so far faced many difficulties related to policies and infrastructure.

He explained that new vessels needed extensive testing while the current mooring facilities in the city were “inadequate,” forcing businesses to establish a testing center in Thailand.

Additionally, the inspection and registration processes for yachts in HCMC are complicated, posing difficulties for usage, production, and sales activities.

“Therefore, regulatory authorities need to simplify procedures and facilitate business operations, as the trend of investing in and using yachts for recreation and tourism is on the rise,” Ward said.

Bui Hoa An, deputy director of the Department of Transportation, said the city was planning to facilitate investment in yacht facilities.

An said the city had considered 411 locations to build inland waterway ports and is working on investment procedures for 164 ports.

He also said those owning riverside plots can make proposals to the city and if their land meets criteria, they will be granted investment permits.

According to the Tourism Department, waterway tourism plays a significant role in the city’s economic growth in recent years.

In 2023 and 2024, the number of tourists is estimated to reach 500,000, generating an estimated annual revenue of VND300 billion (US$12.33 million), which is expected to increase by about 10% in the following years.

However, to develop tourism in this field, many challenges need to be addressed, requiring the cooperation of different departments for synchronized investment from docks and piers to mooring facilities, it said.