Port operators want container fee raised

In a proposal to the government by the Private Sector Development Committee, port operators say that the current terminal handling charge (THC) in Vietnam is only 40-50% that of other countries in the region.

Le Quang Trung, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Logistics Association, said that international shipping firms collect from their customers a THC of $140 per 20-foot container, but only pay Vietnamese seaport operators $45-52, or 37% of the total.

Cambodian port operators, however, get as much as $90 per container, and operators in Singapore receive $115.

According to international norms, 80% of the THC must go to the port operator, and therefore Vietnamese operators should get $80-100 per container instead of $45-52 as current, Trung said.

Port operators have therefore proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade raise the THC in Vietnam gradually to reach the same level as other regional countries.

A 15-20% increase annually for four or five years will bring THC in Vietnam to the regional average of $101 per container.