The country currently has only 2 locks built, of which, only Nghia Hung locks are operated by an automation system, more modern than Rach Chanh locks in Long An (using hydraulics).
Likened to Vietnam's "miniature Panama Canal" thanks to its operation almost like the famous project in the Americas, Nghia Hung Locks (Nam Dinh) shorten transportation journeys, reduce costs, and pave the way for modern water transportation - a long-standing dream of the domestic logistics industry.
Short journey - long step forward
On the afternoon of one day in early June, the Macstar Ninh Binh, with a capacity of 135 TEU, slowly entered the Nghia Hung lock on the journey from Hai Phong to Ninh Binh.
Nghia Hung Canal helps businesses save a lot of time and costs.
From the Ninh Co river side, the ship entered the 179m long ou, the right wing on the Ninh Co river side gradually closed. The water regulator works so that the water level in the chamber is regulated in balance with the external water level. Then, the 87-ton left wing on the Day River opened, and the ship continued its journey.
It all took place in less than 20 minutes - fast, rhythmically like a hydraulic clockwork. A short "symphony" but brings long-term transportation efficiency.
According to Mr. Le Manh Cuong, Director of Macstar Coastal Container Transport Joint Stock Company, this is the first SB (river to sea) ship to exploit the coastal transport container route through the Nghia Hung canal.
Previously, if you wanted to transport goods from Hai Phong to provinces such as Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh or Thai Binh, ships had to follow waterway corridor No. 2, encountering many problems, especially bridges with low static when passing through the inner city of Hai Phong.
With the old route, the barges could only carry about 36 TEUs, stack 2 layers of containers, and the journey lasted up to 28-30 hours. Now, thanks to the new canal channel and the overpass with a static span of less than 15m, the large SB ship can travel smoothly, loading up to 3 layers of containers. The journey time is shortened to 13-15 hours, the cost is reduced by up to 28% compared to the road.
It is not allowed to let the train wait for a long time
Every day, an average of 50-80 vehicles pass through the Nghia Hung lock. Depending on the tonnage and size of the vessel, engineers will arrange for one vehicle to pass through the lock or 3-4 vehicles to pass through the lock at the same time.
The SB container ship entered the Nghia Hung lock.
Behind that rhythm is a team of engineers operating in 3 shifts/day, 24/7 to ensure that no ship has to wait for a long time or be congested. All engineers working here must undergo intensive training and have European operating certificates.
Mr. Luu Duc Duong, Deputy Director of Operation, who has been attached to the project since the installation stage of the equipment, shared: "Although we are used to it, operation is never a light matter. There are times when large garbage or foreign objects drift into the chamber, causing jamming of the right wing. Sometimes we have to mobilize divers to work, in conditions where we can see almost nothing."
Each such incident usually causes the system to pause for several days. At that time, the units must issue warnings to ships, instruct them to adjust the route, minimize the impact on transportation activities.
To ensure safety, not only in the event of an incident, but the locks will also suspend operations in adverse weather cases such as level 8 storms, or in case of dense fog out of sight.
Dream of connecting river - sea - land
The country currently has only 2 locks built, of which, only Nghia Hung locks are operated by an automation system, more modern than Rach Chanh locks in Long An (using hydraulics).
From the central control room, engineers monitor all developments through the surveillance camera system, operation and closing of the hatch, regulation of water valves, etc. It's all on a computer screen. The engineer will also detect any problems or problems through the screen.
This not only helps to improve productivity and safety, but also creates a model for future buildings.
In order to be able to build locks and canals connecting the Day River and Ninh Co River, part of the dike and provincial road 490C must be demolished, replaced by a reinforced concrete overpass bridge 700m long, 17m wide, 15m static.
This is a key condition that makes container ships easy to navigate—something that was previously impossible. As a result, in less than two years of operation (from July 2023 to May 2025), more than 23,700 vehicles have passed through the lock. This number continues to increase as businesses gradually switch to coastal transportation, both economical and sustainable.
According to Mr. Do Van Huynh, Director of Nghia Hung Locks Operation Center, with each trip shortening the time by about 8-10 hours, ships with a tonnage of 2,000-3,000 tons save about 200 liters of fuel, equivalent to 20-30 million VND per trip.
"Saving costs is one thing. But the bigger thing is that when waterway transport routes are effective, businesses will gradually switch from road to waterway transport - contributing to reducing infrastructure pressure, traffic accidents and emissions," Mr. Huynh emphasized.
The Nghia Hung canal is only more than 1km long, but it is that short section that opens up a new transport axis, connecting rivers and seas with the mainland. In the future, when the domestic logistics system is modernized, "miniature Panama canals" like these will be an indispensable factor.
In the middle of the peaceful river countryside, there is a lock that quietly operates day and night - not only opening the door for ships to pass, but also paving the way for a cleaner, smoother, and more sustainable transportation future.
- Length of Nghia Hung canal: 1.18km (through Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh).
- Starting point: Km 8+300 Ninh Co river (Nghia Lac commune).
- End point: Km 35 + 450 Day river (Nghia Son commune).
- Width of the bottom of the canal: 90 – 100m.
- Depth: -6.3m to -6.7m.
- Static height without bridge: 15m.
- Lock: Length of the work 279m, length of the hatch 179m, width 17m, height of the bottom -7.0m, top +10.5m, reinforced concrete structure, U-shaped vertical wall.
- Ship tonnage: 3,000 DWT.
- Lock mooring system: a fixed mooring system with three operating water levels, including 12 mooring clusters.
- Waiting area for ships at both ends of the river: each end has 7 mooring posts, 3 pedestrian bridges.
