Shipment of Thai goods to China to be expedited, dry port developer tells Thai authorities

The shipment of Thai farm products to China by rail through Laos will be faster in the near future because procedures are being streamlined, the developer of the Thanaleng Dry Port (TDP) told Thai authorities on Monday.
The Lao developer is cooperating with the Chinese side to clear sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and China Certification and Inspection Group (CCIC) related processes, to speed up authorisation for the transport of farm products.
A few weeks ago, the Lao investor signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese side on SPS cooperation, TDP’s Managing Director Sakhone Philangam told the Thai guests. Thailand’s Deputy Transport Minister Atirat Ratanasate and his entourage made a working trip to the dry port, which is part of Laos’ first-ever integrated Vientiane Logistics Park (VLP).
Under the MOU, China’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) centre will be set up at the TDP.
“Once we have SPS and CCIC facilities at the dry port, all Thai products with SPS and CCIC seals can be shipped directly to any county (in China via the railway),” Mr Sakhone said.
“This is the facilitation we are offering to the Thai side.”
Mr Sakhone explained that shipment of Thai durian to China by rail through Laos had been slow so far because the fruit has to be transferred to trucks at the Chinese border crossing in Boten.  The consignment has to be inspected at the truck border crossing to get SPS certification before entering China by road. This process takes days to complete, including the time taken to comply with Covid-19 prevention procedures imposed by China.
However, non-agricultural products can be transported directly by rail, the director said.
Open for service since December last year, the dry port and logistics park will set new standards for logistics infrastructure in landlocked Laos. This critical infrastructure will pave the way for a surge in trade between China and Laos, as well as transit trade between China and Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. This in turn will spur a major shift from sea trade to road and rail passage through Laos with the completion of new cross-border railways in the next few years.
Because of the break-of-gauge point between the one-metre-gauge Laos-Thailand rail track and the 1.435-metre standard gauge Laos-China railway, tracks have been built inside the dry port to enable the transfer of goods between the two tracks, Mr Sakhone said.
On June 26, the Laos-China Railway will debut its first transport service from Thanaleng (the dry port) to China, Mr Sakhone said, citing information from the Laos-China Railway Company Limited.
So far, goods transferred through the dry port have been transited to the Laos-China Railway’s Vientiane Tai Station.
To expedite transport and logistics processes, Mr Sakhone asked Thai authorities to instruct truck drivers to forward the necessary information before entering the dry port, so that as much documentation as possible could be processed prior to trucks’ arrival.
For his part, Mr Atirat said his ministry is pleased to extend support and cooperation for the mutual benefit of both sides.
The logistics park, which is being built on a 382-hectare site, features investment opportunities through five zones.
These are the Thanaleng Dry Port - the centre of international import and export trade with all categories of customs operations; a Tank Farm - a fuel distribution centre for Laos; the Logistics Park - a warehousing and distribution centre; a Free Trade Zone; and an Export Processing Zone.
Vice Chairman of Vientiane Logistics Park Co., Ltd., Mr Viengkhone Sitthixay, told the Thai guests that the logistics park is part of the Lao Logistics Link project, and the Lao National Logistics Strategy for 2016-2030, which will boost the government’s efforts to transform Laos from a landlocked to a land-linked country.

By Advertorial Desk
 (Latest Update June 15, 2022)