Ho Chi Minh City is aiming to become a leading service center in the region and gradually reach international standards. In addition to developing modern logistics, the city also needs to focus on creating a high-end service ecosystem with its own brand, associated with national identity to affirm its position on the global map.
At the seminar "HCMC - a major service center of the country and the region with high-end, modern, and high-value service industries: Orientation and breakthrough solutions" recently organized by the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Luong Quang Thi - Member of the Executive Committee, Head of the Legal Policy Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Logistics Association - warned that infrastructure shortcomings are a major barrier to the vision of making Ho Chi Minh City a global service center.
A typical example is the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster, which was ranked by the World Bank as the top 7 in the world in terms of container port exploitation efficiency, but is currently only operating at about 50% capacity.
The main reason comes from the lack of connectivity, National Highway 51 is often overloaded, expressways and belt routes are behind schedule, while Cai Mep Ha Logistics Center has not yet been deployed.
This is a paradox that reduces the competitiveness of an international strategic asset, Mr. Thi emphasized.
To remove bottlenecks, Mr. Luong Quang Thi proposed a development roadmap based on three pillars: infrastructure integration, digital transformation and green logistics. In particular, developing a cold supply chain is considered a key priority because it not only brings high added value but also contributes to reducing post-harvest losses of agricultural and aquatic products (estimated at 20-25% per year), while meeting the growing demand of the pharmaceutical industry.
In parallel, the city needs to develop a multi-modal logistics infrastructure, including the Ho Chi Minh City - Cai Mep - Bau Bang - Can Tho express railway line, 324 km long, connecting seaports with the Northern and intra-regional industrial parks; expanding inland waterway transport and building a green, modern cold storage system.
From another perspective, Associate Professor, Dr. Vo Thi Ngoc Thuy (Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics) believes that adding two groups of digital economic service sectors and training in addition to 9 key service sectors is a step in the right direction.
According to Ms. Thuy, Ho Chi Minh City needs to boldly propose specific mechanisms, establish a specialized council to orient and develop key service industries. In particular, the city must build high-end products and services with its own brand, associated with national identity, to avoid falling under the dependence of foreign enterprises.
"If this gap is left, the market will easily be dominated by foreign enterprises. And when they withdraw, the city will lose its position, Ms. Thuy warned.
To create a high-end service ecosystem, Ho Chi Minh City needs to soon form a mechanism to nurture a leading brand, competitive at the regional and international levels. Above all, Ho Chi Minh City must pioneer in creating trends and playing a leading role in the market. This is also the foundation for the city to realize the goal of becoming a global service center, not only in logistics but also in high-quality service industries, associated with Vietnamese brands.
