Cat Lai Port Authorities have begun allowing many barges to access its wharves to discharge and transport cargo by waterway in a bid to clear a huge traffic block that lasted three days on Provincial Road No 25, Thai News Service reported.

They also delegated 50 employees to join teams co-ordinating traffic circulation on the road after a gridlock stranded many container trucks for hours.

Officials of the port and transportation companies had complained that the congestion was severely hampering their functions.

Nguyen Thanh Tuan of the Hop Thanh Cong Trading and Transport said only one among its 10 trucks managed to escape from the site to reach a destination in Binh Duong, and the remaining were stuck on the road for 24 hours.

Tuan said the company had to pay addition warehouse charges, of US$6 to $12 per container per day, and compensate its client for the delay, not to mention the loss in revenue because of the low utilisation of the trucks.

Another transport company director said his trucks discharged only 15 of 100 containers from the port a day.

The roadblock has also affected the port's production, said Ngo Minh Thuan, deputy general director of the Sai Gon New Port Company, adding that the Cat Lai Port was working below capacity these days.

Truck drivers blamed the block on the narrow road, saying that its width was just enough for two lines of trucks travelling to and fro; and in case one truck broke down, it would stop the whole line of trucks going in the same direction.

Nearby residents added that the operation of tipper trucks serving construction of the East-West Corridor has hindered the flow of the container trucks, which faced many difficulties in going around because of their height and length.

Thuan said port authorities plan to hire or buy rescue vehicles that can tow any truck that broke down.

They would also work with the road transport authorities and construction companies on widening the road and urgently building bypass roads that trucks can use in case of traffic jams.

Thuan recommended that the city should ban vehicles from taking a left turn on to the road from the Phu My Bridge, which opens early next month, to avoid the possibility of severe traffic jams in the future.