Developing the green port model: From theory to practice in Vietnam and development trends for the South Central region

The article examines the theoretical foundations, international practice, and development trends of the green port model, thereby proposing orientations for application in Vietnam's South Central region. The synthesized results show that leading practices worldwide place emphasis on integrating environmental protection into port operations, while articulating a four tier evolutionary framework consisting of basic, high technology, integrated smart, and carbon neutrality, thereby clarifying the stepwise logic alongside the corresponding set of policy and technology instruments. In Vietnam, the analysis identifies key bottlenecks including uncoordinated infrastructure, a still limited level of green technology adoption, gaps in implementation mechanisms, shortages of financial resources, technological disparities, and institutional governance challenges, with barriers most pronounced in the South Central Coast. Accordingly, the article recommends policies in a sequence of standardizing environmental governance, measuring reporting and verifying emissions linked to data disclosure, digitizing dispatching to reduce waiting time, electrifying cargo handling equipment, piloting shore power across stable load berth clusters, increasing the share of renewable electricity at ports, and mobilizing PPP alongside green finance that links fee incentives to emissions intensity. The conclusion emphasizes that the green port transition requires strategic commitment, multi actor coordination, and a roadmap aligned with local conditions, in order to reduce emissions, enhance operational efficiency, and increase the competitiveness of green ports in the South Central region. A key strength of the article lies in its explicit regional focus on the South Central Coast and in its use of a four tier conceptual categorization of green port development, which together provide a clearer basis for sequencing policy choices under Vietnamese institutional and infrastructural conditions.