For thousands of years, the Mekong River has served as the main transport route between riparian towns situated along its banks. It provides a means for people to access natural resources and social facilities, such as schools and health services. Traditional forms of trade linking communities continue today; however, the river is playing an increasingly important role in international trade routes, connecting the six Mekong countries to each other and to the rest of the world.

Main cargo transported between Thailand’s Chiang Saen and China is mostly the refined petroleum products from Bangkok, which is 32% of the throughput. The other 68% is transported by road. The Phnom Penh cargo throughput to Viet Nam in 2014 is 140,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU). The cargo transported between Viet Nam and Cambodia includes petroleum, general cargo, cement, steel, coal, fertilizers, and agriculture products.

Additionally, passenger transport along the Mekong River makes a great contribution to tourism development with thousands of tourists from China, Thailand and Lao PDR. 1,800 passenger tourist boats are registered in Lao PDR while there are many big inland and seagoing vessels of up to 5,000-ton deadweight (DWT) are registered in Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Despites the income and employment opportunities the trade brings, the navigation potential of the river is still under-utilised. Navigation conditions vary greatly along its length. The upper parts of the Khone Falls in southern Lao PDR contain a number of physical obstacles and turbulent sections. Only experienced skippers and boats that are small in size, shallow of draught, and no more than 45m in length can safely navigate the Mekong in its current condition.

Waterway improvements in the upper stretches of the river require the rocky outcrops to be removed or relocated. Improvements are expected to make the river passable for much larger cargo boats, which will boost both regional and international exchange of goods. However, reckless removal of the obstacles could impact the flow of the river, resulting in lowering the water table upstream while raising it downstream. 

According to the MRC Council Study’s assessment, economic gains from the navigation sector increased by $69 billion by 2014, a ten-fold increase over the past 24 years.  However, increased inland traffic has the potential to cause significant pollution, such as oil spills from shipping accidents and major incidents such as fires and explosions, all of which could impact riparian communities. 

The MRC’s work in navigation derives from the Mekong Agreement’s article 9 on freedom of navigation. Specifically, the MRC supports countries through: 

• Basin-wide strategies and plans as the Master Plan on Waterborne Transport that promote navigation, connectivity and waterborne trade
• MRC Procedures including the Prior Consultation process that ensures all mainstream projects have good navigation locks that facilitates freedom of navigation
• Agreements between countries that facilitate rules-based waterborne transport
• Guidelines and tools that facilitate navigation safety
• Studies and assessments of benefits and costs of navigation as part of larger studies

Although Inland barges can offer an economical, environmentally-friendly, and safe mode of transport, significant challenges remain.

The MRC study, the Carriage, Handling and Storage of Dangerous Goods (Volume I), reveals that a number of inland ports and terminals have limited capacity in the management of dangerous goods, waste management, environmental protection, and emergency response planning. Furthermore, awareness and understanding of the treatment of dangerous goods in port management and worker safety needs to be enhanced. The study (Volume II) provides recommendations calling for ports to implement management systems for handling dangerous goods, environmental protection, and emergency and oil spill response.

The Council Study on navigation assessment examines the transboundary impacts of existing and planned navigation infrastructure on river flow (quantity, quality, timing, and content) including an assessment of the positive and negative impacts of water resources developments in other thematic areas on navigation. Key findings from the study concluded that:

• There will be a positive economic and social impact from navigation development. By 2040, it is expected that 89 million tons of cargo will be shifted from road to inland waterway transport, providing job opportunities for 1.95 million people. 

• Navigation will have a negligible impact on water flow quantity, timing and content, assuming that dredged material is dumped back into the river to maintain the hydrological and sediment balance. 

• Hydropower development will mostly have positive impact to navigation enhancement in the Mekong.