Vietnam's logistics hub strategy targets ASEAN supply chain leadership

Vietnam recorded more than $930 billion in total import-export turnover in 2025, and its government is now building the infrastructure to match that volume. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has released the framework for a Logistics Services Development Strategy running to 2035, with a long-range vision to 2050, that repositions logistics from a supporting function to a core driver of national competitiveness.

The strategy's operational centrepiece is a tiered network of green, smart logistics hubs anchored to seaports, cross-border railways, border gates, and multimodal corridors. For enterprise operators sourcing from or shipping through Southeast Asia, the plan has concrete implications for route planning, supplier qualification, and compliance posture.

A tiered network, not a build-everywhere approach

Bui Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the MoIT's Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development, told Vietnam News Agency that logistics activity in the country remains fragmented and needs to be reorganized into a more integrated, professional, and cost-efficient system. His proposed solution is deliberate: a structured hierarchy of national, regional, and local logistics centers, each connected to specialized cargo consolidation points.

The tiered model is designed specifically to prevent redundant investment. Northern hubs are planned for Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, where deep-water port capacity and major international border crossings with China provide natural anchoring points. Southern infrastructure will concentrate around Ho Chi Minh City, the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex, and the Long Thanh International Airport project, linking the southeast industrial region into a single corridor.

Tuan described the shift in how logistics hubs are now classified: they are no longer treated as warehouses or transshipment facilities but as strategic infrastructure for manufacturing and international trade. That framing matters for procurement and supply chain leaders evaluating where to build or consolidate regional distribution capacity.

From transit point to supply chain organizer

Dr. Bui Ba Nghiem, a senior specialist at the MoIT's Agency of Foreign Trade, told VNA that the strategy marks a new development phase in which Vietnam could become an important logistics link within ASEAN and integrate more deeply into global logistics networks. He specified that this outcome depends on the strategy being implemented comprehensively, covering institutional reforms, infrastructure investment, and the development of free trade zones alongside the logistics hubs.

Vietnam's FTA network is already extensive, giving it preferential access to major trading blocs. The logistics strategy is framed as the infrastructure layer that would let Vietnam act on those trade agreements more effectively, moving goods faster, cheaper, and with better traceability.

Green and digital requirements carry compliance implications

The strategy explicitly ties hub development to green and smart logistics standards. Nguyen Le Hang, external affairs director at SLP Vietnam, told VNA that modern, environmentally friendly logistics infrastructure combined with digital technologies allows companies to compete on service quality, delivery speed, and compliance with international standards rather than on price alone.

She also highlighted access to financing as a practical consequence. Firms that align with green investment strategies become more attractive to investors and financial institutions, she said, pointing to e-commerce fulfillment, cold storage, and express delivery as the sectors with the most immediate growth potential under the new framework.

For operators currently qualifying suppliers or evaluating regional distribution partners in Vietnam, that signals an emerging two-tier market: hubs and tenants that meet green and digital standards will gain preferred access to financing and high-value cargo, while those that do not may face higher capital costs and narrower customer bases.

What this means for your team

• Audit current Vietnam-based logistics partners against the MoIT's emerging green and digital hub standards; firms already investing in environmental infrastructure and traceability systems will be better positioned as hub-tier access criteria tighten.
• Evaluate routing strategies through northern and southern hub corridors separately. Hai Phong and Quang Ninh serve different border-gate and rail connections than the Cai Mep-Thi Vai and Long Thanh cluster in the south; consolidation decisions should reflect which corridor aligns with your end markets.
• Factor Long Thanh International Airport's timeline into air-freight and cold-chain planning for the southern region. Its integration into the southern hub network is a structural capacity addition that affects lead times for time-sensitive or high-value cargo.
• When negotiating new warehousing or 3PL contracts in Vietnam, include clauses tied to digital track-and-trace and environmental compliance, as these are becoming baseline requirements for export market access and green financing eligibility.