The Day River – Ninh Co River Canal Complex

The Day River – Ninh Co River Canal Complex under the Northern Delta Transport Development Project, located in Nghia Hung District, Nam Dinh Province, worth 100 million USD (equivalent to 2,300 billion VND), was put into use in July 2023.

The Day – Ninh Co Canal Complex is a very important component of the WB6 Project. After completion, this complex will maximize the efficiency of the Lach Giang estuary channel renovation project (completed and put into use in 2016), helping 2,000-ton fully loaded and 3,000-ton partially loaded ships to go deep inland to the Ninh Binh and Ninh Phuc port clusters, thereby reducing transportation costs, reducing the burden on roads, and reducing environmental pollution.

The project started on March 1, 2021, including the main items: Construction of a canal connecting the Day River and the Ninh Co River with a length of about 1 km, a canal bottom width of 90-100 m; Construction of a lock with a lock chamber size of 17 m wide, 179 m long, and a bottom elevation of -7.0 m. Technical level of the channel: special level (Day River side has a width of 90 m, bottom elevation of -6.3 m; Ninh Co River side has a bottom width of 100 m, bottom elevation of -6.7 m); clearance height for navigation is 15 m.

Also according to the decision to open the channel, Nghia Hung lock has a length of 179 m, a width of 17 m, a height of 10.5 m; effective length of 160 m; bottom elevation of -7.0 m; top elevation of +10.5 m, reinforced concrete structure.

The waiting area has 2 parts: The dock end on Ninh Co river and the dock end on Day river, each end has 7 anchors and 3 pedestrian bridges. The allowable load through the dock is up to 3,000 DWT.

The entire journey through the national inland waterway of Nghia Hung Canal, including Nghia Hung Lock, will only take about 40 minutes, shortening more than 5 hours compared to the previous route. The time through the national inland waterway of Nghia Hung Canal will only take about 30 minutes when ship owners are familiar with the operation method of Nghia Hung Lock. The project is also a combination of many types such as waterways, wharves, communications… synchronously connected together… connecting the northern coastal transport route with the ports on the Day River, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh areas through Lach Giang estuary, helping to shorten 20% of the travel time of watercraft from coastal provinces to Ninh Binh and vice versa.