Of these, 991 docks have expired licenses, and 909 are operating without licenses.
According to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration (VIWA), authorities have implemented several measures to restrict and handle unlicensed ports and docks, particularly by guiding dock owners to complete the necessary paperwork for qualified ports to be officially licensed according to regulations.
However, the situation remains complex, as unlicensed docks are located outside the areas managed by local port authorities and primarily fall under local jurisdictions. VIWA and local port authorities have sent multiple requests for cooperation in handling the issue, but many localities have not proactively addressed the problem.
For instance, Bac Giang Province has 82 docks along the Thuong River, Luc Nam River, and Cau River. Bac Ninh Province has 58 docks along the Cau River and Duong River.
The primary reasons are that some docks have existed for many years and are situated within bridge safety corridors, infrastructure projects, dike corridors, and flood drainage corridors. Local land allocation procedures face many difficulties. Many inland waterway docks have received notices of land lease contract revocations because local authorities allocated land without proper authority and in violation of regulations, an issue that has persisted for a long time without resolution.
To address this situation, the leadership of the Ministry of Transport has tasked the VIWA with developing a plan for a comprehensive inspection of ports and docks on the inland waterway system, from July 1 to December 31.
Besides detecting and handling violations and identifying related responsibilities, the Ministry of Transport's leadership emphasized that the inspection team should propose solutions to address and rectify issues, creating favorable conditions for businesses. The owners should be guided through the necessary procedures for ports and docks already in the planning and meet the licensing conditions.
