More ports coming up in congested south
20-AUG-2008 Intellasia | Thanhniennews
Aug 20, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
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With the volume of goods passing through the southern ports rising sharply, several port construction and improvement projects have been initiated in the area.
In the first four months this year, the quantity of goods transported through the Saigon Newport Co surged 45.86%, leading to severe logjams at HCM City's Tan Cang and Cat Lai ports.
To resolve the problem, the city authorities began to develop the Hiep Phuoc Port cluster to share the load.
Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung said his ministry approved last month a city proposal to dredge the Soai Rap River so that Hiep Phuoc can accommodate larger vessels.
Truong Ngoc Tuong, an engineer at Port Designing and Sea Techniques Co (Portcoast), said the dredging is expected to take one-year and after that the port can handle boats of up to 70,000 tonnes.
One of the investors in Hiep Phuoc is SPCT, a joint venture between the global port operator DP World and HCM City's Tan Thuan Industry Development Co.
Nguyen Le Chon Tam, a DP World representative in Vietnam, said the container terminal at the port would open in May 2009.
Another international port cluster along the Thi Vai River in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province is also under construction.
The Cai Mep- Thi Vai International Port project was approved in 2005 and is scheduled to open in 2009.
The project, estimated to cost around 11.4 trillion dong (US$690 million), is funded by Japanese ODA loans.
Pham Anh Tuan, Portcoast's project manager, said the port cluster is situated at a convenient spot and would be able to handle large ships.
The river is around 40 kilometres long and has an average depth of 15-20 metres.
Thi Vai Port is designed to accommodate container ships of 50,000 tonnes while Cai Mep Port can handle ships of 80,000 deadweight tonnes.
Last month, minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung said the construction of the project is proceeding apace.
The transport ministry is the port's major investor.
Construction of roads and bridges leading to the port cluster is expected to begin next month.
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