In the new Draft Decree of the Government, the Ministry of Construction proposed to update and amend a number of regulations on investment in construction and management of dry port exploitation.
The Ministry of Construction said that dry ports are a part of the transport infrastructure, a transportation organization hub associated with the activities of seaports, airports, inland waterway ports, railway stations, road border gates, and at the same time function as a border gate for goods exported and imported by sea according to regulations in Clause 12, Article 4 of the 2015 Vietnam Maritime Code.
Implementing the Vietnam Maritime Code 2015, the Government issued Decree 38/2017/ND-CP on investment in construction, management and exploitation of dry ports. The Decree is a legal basis that meets practical requirements, creating conditions for individuals, organizations and enterprises to carry out activities related to the management, investment and exploitation of dry ports, contributing to promoting import and export activities of goods and socio-economic development of regions and localities. Implementing the provisions of Decree No. 38/2017/ND-CP dated April 4, 2017 of the Government, the whole country has 17 dry ports announced to be open and in operation, located in 12 provinces and centrally run cities.
In the past time, the work of handling administrative procedures (TTHC) related to dry ports by State agencies has basically met the requirements of society. However, in the implementation process, there are still some issues that need to be specifically regulated in legal documents to ensure feasibility in implementation such as: regulations on the method of submitting documents, electronic document components to be appropriate and detailed to ensure feasibility for businesses and people handling administrative procedures; at the same time, some administrative procedures are not yet synchronized and unified on "one-stop shop".
The decentralization and authorization activities in handling administrative procedures of the Ministry of Construction have received attention, however, this work needs to be further promoted to simplify the methods and shorten the implementation time. On August 18, 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1757/QD-TTg approving the Plan to reduce and simplify administrative procedures related to production and business activities under the management of the Ministry of Construction.
The Draft Decree continues to specify the above-mentioned directives, aiming to create more favorable conditions for relevant organizations and individuals to implement effectively and conveniently; in particular, minimizing direct contact between people and businesses with state management agencies and ensuring compliance with the requirements of Resolution No. 13-NQ/TW dated January 16, 2012 of the 4th Conference of the 11th Party Central Committee; Resolution 18-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the 12th Party Central Committee; Resolution No. 04/NQ-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government on decentralization and delegation of powers; supplementing regulations on decentralization of state management tasks to the Vietnam Maritime and Waterways Administration and localities to handle administrative procedures.
According to the Ministry of Construction, dry port operations are related to the state management functions of many ministries, branches and localities. Therefore, for dry ports to develop effectively, ensuring security, safety and sustainability, the coordination of ministries, branches and localities in building institutions, policies and organizing the implementation of legal regulations on dry ports is very important. In addition, to ensure that the work of planning policies on dry ports is timely and consistent with the general development of the country's economy, compliance with legal regulations by entities and enterprises investing in the construction and exploitation of dry ports must be strictly implemented.
However, in recent times, coordination between agencies has not been regular and continuous. Enterprises investing in and building dry ports have not yet fully complied with the provisions of relevant laws, especially regarding reporting and statistics on dry port operations as prescribed. On the other hand, the management of customs clearance points has lacked focus due to the lack of synchronization and unity in the way of handling existing customs clearance points from the previous period and newly invested dry ports. The phenomenon of warehouse exploitation in seaport areas has flourished, affecting the general seaport traffic activities and not fully promoting the role and potential of dry ports according to the planning.
Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of dry port management, it is necessary to have clearer regulations in the draft Decree on handling and resolving the above-mentioned remaining issues, enhancing responsibility among entities, and good coordination between central and local agencies, between management agencies and organizations and individuals investing in the construction and exploitation of dry ports.
Basic contents of the draft
The draft Decree proposes to stipulate a number of main contents as follows:
Management of investment in construction of dry ports, including: principles of investment in construction of dry ports; functions, criteria, and infrastructure of dry ports; supervision of implementation of dry port planning; conversion of customs clearance points for import and export goods into dry ports; announcement of list of dry ports.
Management and exploitation of dry ports, including: authority, procedures and formalities for announcing the opening of dry ports; announcing the opening of dry ports for cargo clearance points that have been planned to be converted into dry ports; temporarily suspending operations and closing dry ports; naming and renaming dry ports.
Managing dry port operations and the powers and responsibilities of agencies and organizations at the port, including: Dry port regulations; ensuring security, order, safety, fire and explosion prevention and environmental pollution prevention at dry ports; coordinating management activities; responsibilities and powers of ministries, branches, localities, investors and enterprises managing and exploiting dry ports for dry port operations.
Some revised and supplemented content
In the draft, the Ministry of Construction proposed to omit and write according to the guidance of some provisions in Decree No. 38/2017/ND-CP which have been stipulated in the 2015 Vietnam Maritime Code such as: (i) explaining the term "dry port" as it has been stipulated in Clause 12, Article 4; (ii) referencing the provisions on "Functions of dry ports" in Article 5 of the draft Decree as it has been stipulated in Article 100 of the Code; (iii) referencing the provisions on "Dry port criteria" in Article 6 of the draft Decree as it has been stipulated in Article 101 of the Code.
Update the provisions in Article 40 of Decree No. 144/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025, including: (i) Authority to carry out procedures to change the name of dry ports (transferring authority from the Vietnam Maritime Administration to the Provincial People's Committee); (2) not to announce the temporary suspension of operations or closure of dry ports (announcement of temporary suspension of operations or closure of dry ports by individuals and organizations when necessary).
Remove some articles in Decree 38/2017/ND-CP including: Article 11 (Establishment, appraisal, approval and management of dry port development planning); Article 12 (Master plan for dry port system development); Article 13 (Detailed plan for dry port system development); Article 14 (Detailed plan for dry port construction). Reason: these contents will be implemented according to planning law.
Abolish regulations on exploitation of maritime infrastructure invested and managed by the State.
Amend and supplement the responsibilities and powers of the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in Article 28 of the draft Decree.
Amending, supplementing, and reducing administrative procedures in implementing investment in construction and managing the exploitation of dry ports.
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