Saigon Newport Corporation attends VPA Annual Conference 2026 themed “Vietnam Seaports: Green Transition to a Thriving Era.”

From September 17 to 19, 2026, in Quy Nhon, Gia Lai Province, Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP) attended the 2026 Annual Conference of the Vietnam Seaports Association (VPA). Hosted by Quy Nhon Port Joint Stock Company under the theme “Vietnam Seaports: Green Transition to a Thriving Era.”, the conference brought together regulatory authorities, port operators, logistics enterprises, shipping lines, and domestic and international partners.

The VPA Annual Conference is an important forum for Vietnam’s seaport community to review the Association’s activities, discuss key industry issues, share operational experience, and strengthen connectivity among ports, logistics enterprises, shipping lines, and technology partners. Against the backdrop of increasingly far-reaching requirements for emissions reduction, energy transition, and digitalization across the global maritime industry, this year’s conference placed strong emphasis on green transformation in conjunction with enhancing competitiveness and promoting the sustainable development of Vietnam’s seaport system.

As an active member of VPA, SNP participates in professional activities, shares port operation experience, and contributes opinions on common issues facing the seaport and logistics sectors. SNP considers green transformation and digital transformation not only requirements for sustainable development, but also increasingly decisive factors in port competitiveness. In recent years, the Corporation has progressively promoted the application of technology in port management and operations, increased the level of automation, expanded the use of environmentally friendly equipment, and optimized transport and logistics chains across its network.

At the conference, Mr. Truong Tan Loc – Marketing Director of SNP, Chairman of the Members’ Council of Tan Cang - Cai Mep International Terminal (TCIT), and Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Logistics and Port Association (HLA) – presented the paper “Strategy to enhance the competitiveness of seaports in the Ho Chi Minh City area. From a new growth pole to a national competitiveness strategy and green transformation”. In his presentation, the SNP representative emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City’s seaport system possesses the necessary conditions and potential to become a new growth pole, with the longer-term ambition of developing into an international maritime center. He also stressed that Vietnam’s national port system needs to shift its mindset from “domestic competition among Vietnamese ports” to “Vietnam’s port system competing with regional port systems”.

Based on Ho Chi Minh City’s new development space, the presentation proposed organizing the port system under two models: “linked port-cluster pairs” and “four seaport growth poles – one international maritime center”. Under this approach, Cai Mep – Can Gio would serve as the gateway port complex, accommodating mainline vessels and international transshipment, while Cat Lai – Phu Huu – Hiep Phuoc would perform feeder-port functions, provide intra-Asia connectivity, consolidate cargo flows, and support urban logistics. These port clusters are not intended to compete for the same functions; rather, they are assigned complementary roles to serve different vessel segments and cargo markets. This approach is designed to maximize the comparative advantages of each area while strengthening connectivity among seaports, ICDs, industrial parks, logistics centers, and free trade zones.

SNP proposed the early completion of Ho Chi Minh City’s integrated master plan, under which the seaport system would be planned as a unified whole while retaining the capability to serve all vessel segments, with individual port clusters complementing rather than competing with one another. SNP also proposed expanding the Ho Chi Minh City Free Trade Zone (FTZ) to encompass the entire Cai Mep port area and establishing an open FTZ mechanism that links seaports, ICDs, and depots. In addition, appropriate incentives relating to taxes, fees, and land should be introduced, together with support for port enterprises investing in green-transition infrastructure, electrified equipment and vehicles, inland waterway transport, and digital technologies.

Through its participation in VPA activities, SNP will continue to work alongside fellow member ports in sharing experience, strengthening cooperation, and contributing initiatives toward the development of a modern, green, smart, and competitive Vietnamese seaport system with an increasingly prominent position in the international maritime industry.