Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration (''VIWA'', Vietnamese: ''Cục Đường thuỷ nội địa Việt Nam'') is the

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

of the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

that governs and maintains the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

s and navigable

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

s of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. The current General Director is Assistant Professor D., People's Teacher Trần Đắc Sửu; VIWA is located in

Ha Noi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

. As an organization, VIWA has: * A board of directors; * 15 River Management stations and joint stock companies; * 4 Port authorities; * 3 Training schools; * Inspection groups; * A magazine - Sail Magazine; * A project management unit.

River management

VIWA has jurisdiction of over 6,000 km of riverways, operating 15 stations and over 140 substations throughout the country. VIWA maintains over 14,000

navigation aid Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

s on Vietnam's rivers. Principal riverways under VIWA's purview include the Red River /

Thái Bình Province Cài () is a Chinese-language surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. In 2019 it was the 38th most common surname in China, but the 9th most common in Taiwan (as of 2018), where it is usually romanized as "Tsai" (based on ...

area in the north, and the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annua ...

system in the south.

Ports

River ports

VIWA governs 77 ports in Vietnam, including 33

river port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers pub ...

s. It manages five of them, all in the north:

Hai Phong Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta. Haiphong w ...

Ninh Bình Ninh Bình () is a small city in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is the capital of Ninh Bình Province. Geography Ninh Bình Province is located in northern Vietnam comprising 48 square kilometres; the 2007 city population was 130,51 ...

, Bắc Ninh, Việt Trì and Hòa Bình.

Seaports

VIWA currently maintains port authorities for four

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

s: *Port Authority 1 at

*Port Authority 2 at

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi ...

*Port Authority 3 at

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

*Port Authority 4 at Cần Thơ

Training schools

VIWA operates three vocational schools:VIWA, General Information, Operational Level Unit
/ref> *Inland Waterway School 1 at Nam Dong Village, in Nam Sách District of Hải Dương Province *Inland Waterway School 2 at Ho Chi Minh City *Inland Waterway Technical Worker School at Hai Phong

References

External links

Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration

Ministry of Transport

Government agencies of Vietnam Governmental office in Hanoi Mekong Delta Port authorities Ports and harbours of Vietnam Hong River Delta Water transport in Vietnam Inland waterway authorities Transport organizations based in Vietnam {{Vietnam-transport-stub