Port operators want container fee raised

Seaport operators want the government to increase its terminal handling charge as they claim they lose billions of dollars annually at the current level, which is lowest in Southeast Asia.

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 a THC of $140 per 20-foot container from their customers, 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.