The new canal links the Day River, the natural border between Ninh Binh and coastal Nam Dinh provinces, and Ninh Co River.
Work on the canal started 2020, and it cost US$101 million, using loans from the World Bank.
With the canal, businesses could now transport goods via the waterways to Ninh Binh Province that borders Hanoi from port in Nam Dinh, instead of relying only on roads, and a longer sea route as before.
The canal has a lock that is 179 m long, 17 m wide and 11 m deep, making it the biggest lock in Vietnam.
When a ship enters the lock, one of its sides stay closed and the other side open until the water level inside the lock and in the river is balanced.
It takes around 15 minutes for each vessel to pass through.
A signal light system at the lock.
Every time the lock is closed and opened, a certain amount of mud will be pushed into a tank and four cranes (in yellow) will suck it up.
Nguyen Tuan Khanh sails his 900-ton vessel through the canal. Khanh uses the vessel to transport woodchips from Hoa Binh Province.
He said the canal allows him to cut the trip by 80 km and save 200 liters of oil.
He also said before the canal was open, he could only take six voyages per month at most but now he thinks he could double that.
Vessels sail on the canal on July 25, 2023.
