Goods transshipment area in Lang Son to operate from the first quarter of 2025

At the Vietnam-China Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Import-Export Trade Connection Forum on the morning of December 3, Vice Chairman of the Lang Son Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Luong Trong Quynh, said that in recent years, the province has always identified border gate trade and economy and auxiliary services as a key economic sector, playing a driving role and making an important contribution to socio-economic development.

The province has implemented many solutions to effectively manage, support, and facilitate the import and export of goods, especially Vietnam's strong agricultural, forestry, and fishery products that account for about 75-80% of the export turnover of goods declared in the province. Along with that, the province has also attracted investment in building and upgrading transport infrastructure to perfect inter-regional and international traffic.

Lang Son also plans to connect with important logistics service areas to effectively promote international transport; expand and upgrade border gate infrastructure and warehouse and yard systems; and develop the Lang Son dry port project located in the complex of non-tariff zones and international goods storage centers.

Mr. Quynh said that the province continues to research and promote digital transformation in managing imports and exports through the digital border gate platform, helping receive and process information publicly and quickly. Thereby promptly regulating means and increasing customs clearance efficiency.

According to the leader of Lang Son province, the locality has implemented a pilot project to build a smart border gate on the specialized freight route in the marker area 1119-1120 and the freight route in the marker area 1088/2-1089.

On November 14, the Lang Son Provincial People's Committee and the People's Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region signed a memorandum of understanding on a mechanism to meet and exchange periodically to jointly build a pilot smart border gate. The purpose is to build an automation model, aiming for 24/7 customs clearance.

Foreign affairs and economic cooperation with Guangxi province are paid attention to and deployed regularly to agree and implement solutions to increase the efficiency of the import and export of goods. At the same time, deploy exchange and trade promotion events for Vietnamese and Chinese businesses to connect, meet, expand consumption markets, and import and export agricultural, forestry, and fishery products.

The province also implemented many policies to support yard, manufacturing, and import-export businesses in the process of accessing and implementing legal regulations on business investment.

Thanks to a series of above-mentioned activities of Lang Son province in particular and border provinces in general, China is Vietnam's leading export market, besides the US and Japan. Along with the ongoing international economic integration process in Vietnam, the signing and implementation of free trade agreements such as CPTPP and RCEP help expand and effectively exploit the export market.

"Lang Son province commits to consistently implementing the policy of creating the most favorable conditions to support businesses' investment in production, business, and import and export of goods and building a civilized and friendly business environment," Mr. Quynh emphasized and committed to strengthening coordination with relevant agencies, especially with Guangxi and domestic exported agricultural product growing regions, to promptly implement specialized management and continue to promote the import and export of agriculture, forestry, and fishery products.

Deputy Head of the Management Board of the Dong Dang-Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone Hoang Khanh Duy said that the flow of vehicles carrying import and export goods through the province in the past year reached an average of 1,300 vehicles/day, an increase of 18.2% compared to 2023.

Total import-export turnover of all types through the province's border gates in 2024 is estimated at USD 66.4 billion, up 27.6% over the same period. Of which, the export turnover of agricultural products declared at the Lang Son Customs Department reached about USD 2.2 billion, an increase of 8.2% over the same period.

Some key products have high export turnover, such as durian fruit with 330,000 tons, worth over USD 1.4 billion; dragon fruit with more than 450,000 tons, worth about USD 280 million; jackfruit with 280,000 tons, worth USD 200 million; mango with more than 200,000 tons, worth more than USD 80 million; and cassava starch with 350,000 tons, worth about USD 145 million.

In the 2008-2023 period, more than VND 12,200 billion has been spent to invest in construction and completion of key socio-economic infrastructure development projects in border gate areas and Lang Son city under the Border Gate Economic Zone.

To date, cross-border road connections at border gates, customs clearance routes, and specialized freight roads have basically been completed. Many important infrastructure projects, such as the transportation system connecting border gate areas, the interdisciplinary office system, and the technical infrastructure supporting operations in the economic zone, have been invested in synchronously, modernly, and effectively. 

"The Goods Transshipment Area Project in the Dong Dang-Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone is expected to complete phase 1 and be put into use in the first quarter of 2025 with a scale of about 58 hectares," Mr. Duy shared.

In 2024, the Management Board has advised the Provincial People's Committee to coordinate with the Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) to open the Tan Thanh-Po Chai customs clearance route (marker area 1090-1091) and the Coc Nam-Lung Nghiu customs clearance route (marker area 1104-1105) under the Huu Nghi-Huu Nghi Quan international border gate pair.

The two sides continue to coordinate to promote the early upgrading of the Chi Ma-Ai Diem bilateral border gate pair to an international border gate.

The Goods Transshipment Area Project in the Dong Dang-Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone is built on a land area of 143.7 hectares, located in Thuy Hung commune and Phu Xa commune, Cao Loc district, Lang Son province.

With a total investment capital of more than VND 3,200 billion, the project includes transshipment and logistics services such as regular container and refrigerated container yards; bulk goods warehouses and cold storage; import and export support services; bonded warehouses, storing temporarily imported and re-exported goods, etc.