Vietnam’s Maritime Economy to Claim Over 50 Percent of GDP by 2020

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May 31 – Vietnam plans to place more emphasis its maritime economy over the next 10 years, which it hopes will account for more than 50 percent of its GDP.

“With the support of foreign and local investors, our maritime economy could contribute 53 to 55 percent of GDP by 2020,” said Do Duc Tien, deputy director general of the Vietnam Maritime Association, during the 8th ASEAN Ports and Shipping Exhibition and Conference in Ho Chi Minh City last week.

Tien went on to say that investment will be focused on enhancing the shipbuilding, ports, petroleum and seafood aspects of the maritime sector to boost its portion of total GDP up from its current level of roughly 30 percent. He also said that Vietnam plans to increase the capacity of the national shipping fleet from 8.5 million deadweight tons in 2015 to 9.5 million by 2015 and 13.5 million by 2020. Tien hopes that these improvements will allow the national fleet to double its annual transportation of commodities by 2020.

The deputy director general also said Vietnam plans to achieve this target by improving the nation’s shipping output, fleet size, and the efficiency of its sea terminals and ports.