To resolutely ‘abolish’ illegal IWT

​A legal inland waterway berth on Dong Nai River, section through Tan Hanh Ward (Bien Hoa City).

Many IWT berths with unauthorized operation

In Dong Nai, there are many IWT berths operating mainly along the rivers. Among them, there are still sneaky operations. This situation not only leads to the risk of water traffic accidents, but also a place for storing and consuming construction materials of illegal exploiters.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Dong Nai currently has 85 units and berths operating in building materials business (sand, stone), of which 38 are licensed to operate, 47 have not yet been granted. Localities that have many illegal IWT berths such as Bien Hoa City (18 berths), Vinh Cuu District (5 berths), Long Thanh District (8 berths), Nhon Trach District (8 berths), etc.

Meanwhile, recorded by Traffic Inspector (Department of Transport) from early 2020 shows that Dong Nai functional forces have made administrative violation records in 32 cases and forced to suspend operations at 15 IWT berths operating illegally and spontaneously with over VND 300 million. Although authorities have sanctioned violations as well as closed illegal berths, but because of the “huge” profits from this business, such berths still operate regardless of law.

According to Dong Nai authorities, the handling of illegal IWT berths is quite complicated, because it has a rather thick river system, diversified and crowded waterways. Many routes have a large concentration of ports and IWT berths, which makes handling difficult. In fact, on the Dong Nai River passing through the districts of Tan Hanh, Hoa An, Buu Hoa, Buu Long, etc. of Bien Hoa City, there are still berths for construction materials trading without permission. This situation took place for many years, but up to now, it has not been completely handled, causing frustration in social public opinion.

According to a police officer of the Provincial Environmental Crime Prevention and Fighting Police Department, at these berths, sand and stone are transported by the crane from barge to shore, then transferred to dump trucks to be transported to works or building material selling points. Not only operate 'sneak' at night, but some berths also blatantly operate during the day. The proof is, everyday, trucks carrying construction materials move in and out of these IWT berths. When operating, these berths often organize to buy sand and stone at night by river; while during the day, they use trucks to transport ‘goods’ to the consuming places. In some cases, when they were detected by the competent forces, they ran away to avoid being handled. Many berths find ways to cope such as irregular activities, shutting down for a while or closing down, absence of business owners, etc.

Strengthen supervision and handling

Currently, the licensing and monitoring of IWT berths, apart from the functional forces, also has the role of local authorities. However, over the past time, this work has not been drastically implemented.  Unauthorized IWT berths have remained in operation and exist for a long time but have not been detected and suspended in time. Many people believe that the poor management has made IWT berths illegally operate.

The existence of unauthorized waterways has significantly affected waterway traffic safety. Some berths also are gathering places, collecting sand from “sand bandits”, contributing to the landslides on some river sections, affecting the flow and safety of waterways.

Chief Traffic Inspector of the Department of Transportation Nguyen Phan Trong said, in order to strengthen management at IWT berths to ensure operational safety, the Traffic Inspector has conducted a operation inspection of IWT building materials trading in the province.

Over the past time, the interdisciplinary forces including: Traffic Inspector, Waterway Traffic Police, Region III Inland Waterway Port, etc have also coordinated and strengthened its inspection of licensed ports and terminals, handling cases of violations of regulations on illegal exploitation and transportation of building materials.

Along with that, the functional forces also propagated and advocated the implementation of the 2014 Law on Inland Waterway Traffic and legal documents related to waterway operations to berth owners, port operators and vehicle drivers; While resolutely handling vehicles that do not ensure safe traffic conditions entering the port, loading and unloading berths as well as leaving the berth.

“In addition to resolutely closing the “sneaky” operation terminals, these berths will be handed over to local authorities for supervision. Especially, it is recommended that localities install cameras in areas where there are many active water terminals to monitor them from re-operating” - Mr. Trong emphasized.

Le Thu