A new coastal transport route between Quang Binh and Kien Giang provinceopened on October 5, slashing freight rates by up to 75 percent.

DeputyMinister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong said at the opening ceremony inHue that the route followed the success of one recently opened betweenQuang Ninh and Binh Thuan.

He said the Quang Ninh – Binh Thuan route had not only reduced transportation costs, but had led to fewer road accidents.

Oneof the newly developed coastal routes connects Quang Binh and BinhThuan (858km), and the other connects Binh Thuan and Kien Giang (700km).

Only vessels classified for both river and sea travel areallowed to travel in both new routes - as long as they do not venturemore than 12 nautical miles from the coast in seas with waves 2.5 metreshigh or less.

Statistics from the Vietnam MaritimeAdministration (Vinamarine) show that the demand for waterway transportin coastal provinces is rising because the cost of shipping goods ismuch cheaper than by road.

The amount of goods carried through the Mekong Delta Region is more than 50 million tonnes a year.

Companies in Da Nang transport a total of 400,000 tonnes of goods a year, including petroleum, steel products and fertilisers.

Sincethe Quang Ninh – Quang Binh waterway route opened recently, a largenumber of companies have changed from road to water transport.

Vinamarinealso reports that road transport cost for one container from Hai Phongto Thanh Hoa was between 10 to 12 million VND, while water transportcost only 2.4 million VND.-VNA