Our HCMC, together with the country, has been in the middle of 2015- the last year of the five-year plan 2011- 2015 – the last year before we start a new five-year plan by 2020.

This means the city will have another five years to finish its final steps to reach the target of developing itself and the country to a modern industrial country in 2012. One of the most important things that was emphasized in the 11th Party Congress is to have a modern synchronous infrastructure system, with logistics infrastructure system to be the part of it. This is a strategic breakthrough that give a chance for quick and sustainable economic development.

It can be said that since the 11th Party Congress, HCMC, with the whole country, has carried out programs and projects of upgrading infrastructure systems, solving important bottlenecks in the progress of social-economic development. However, its infrastructures remains inadequacies: road system is narrow and downgraded. Therefore, the logistics sector has been unable to have remarkable development to be a metropolitan city as expected. This put forward issues to be solve both in theory and in practical experience.

First, on which way the city’s logistics sector should develop should be determined. Statistics shows the number of passengers and cargo transported ranked first in the Southern Key Economic Zone and in the country as well. However, in term of econometrics, the number showed the large amount of cargo and the large number of passengers having been transported only, not the development of the logistics sector in term of co-ordinations and active impacts to the social-economic development of the city. This also shows that the city development is passive. Therefore, the logistics sector has not been considered as one of driving forces that boost up the social-economic development and as a transshipment center- since the transshipment center should have remarkable influence to social-economic developments of other cities and provinces through logistics impacts.

So one of the issues to be solve is to determine role and ability of logistics development of HCMC. Which way should its logistics sector develop?

Second, on what model should the city’s logistics sector develop? And with what elements? As analyzed, the development was passive, and there has been no strategic orientation to shape the city’s logistics sector and the roles of other cities and provinces as BR-VT or Hai Phong. It is because the logistics sector have not had core content to shape its logistics concept. The elements can be airports, logistics center, modern road system- a hard part- or the arrangement of them- the soft part. The lack of both required soft and hard parts has not made HCMC “a logistics center”. So far, its logistics sector has not been seen as a core power.

Third, do we have enough resources to solve these two issue to 2020? Is it possible to mobilize resources? And what mechanisms and policies are needed? It can be said that we have a little time from now to 2020 for both changes and investments. And there should be rather large resources to carry out determined targets. We have had better policies to mobilize resources and to socialize infrastructure investments. With these policies, resources in the society can be mobilize better for changes in the field of logistics. However, there should be a more careful look at resources and time. That is, the city should set a suitable point to start the progress of making the city a metropolitan one with complete modern logistics infrastructure system.

There should be clear targets, visions, solutions and resources for the issues. The limit of time and resources requires clearer determination to the logistics development of the city. These are things to be determined and make clear to make a HCMC’s logistics trade mark- a thing with complete modern infrastructure that contributes to the social-economic development of the city in the future.

Cao Ngoc Thanh