Cam Ranh Port Bridging Southern Central and Central Highlands Regions

Cam Ranh port, commonly known as Ba Ngoi port, is famous for being located in Cam Ranh area that was a base of the French colonists during the wartime. After Vietnam’s reunification, the Ba Ngoi was only a part of the Nha Trang-Ba Ngoi port complex and was under the management by the Vietnam Marine Department. The port was handed over to the Khanh Hoa province’s People Committee in 1991 and then became an independent port trading enterprise. The committee transferred the port to Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) on October 31, 2007. In addition to development investment projects, the Ba Ngoi port had been quickly transformed into one-liability limited company in accordance with the 9^th Central Party Committee’s Resolution at its third meeting and was renamed as Cam Ranh port to enhance its position and prestige. The Cam Ranh port was officially made debut on April 1, 2009 and operates under the one-liability limited company.

 

The port transformation started when the provincial people’s committee decided to invest in repairing, upgrading and expanding local bridges and ports in 1995. In 2007, the Ba Ngoi port (currently known as Cam Ranh port) had a bridge with 182 metres in length, a wharf with 308 metres in length and 11.6 metres in depth. The port can receive ships with tonnage of up to 30,000 tonnes and is capable to handle 1.2 million tonnes of cargoes per year. In addition to equipment and infrastructure investment, the port’s management board has been gradually reforming port operations and management with priority given to human resource training so as to expand and enhance port service quality step by step to meet increasing demand by clients.

 

The port’s goods handling capacity has been increased by 12 folds to over one million tonnes in recent years and 1.296 million tonnes in 2008 from 96,000 tonnes in 1992, surpassing its designed capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year. Imports and exports always account for over 50 percent of the total handled cargoes. Goods handled across the port are very diversified including minerals, cement, salt, coal, fertilizer, wood, agricultural products, clinker, steel sheets, and equipment. Thus, its revenues and profits have gradually increased year by year, particularly revenues from logistic services, helping improving living standard of labourers and fostering security at the port.

In order to bring the Cam Ranh port to a new high and make it become a port that best services clients and integrates into the world in accordance with the government of Vietnam’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) entry regulations, the port’s capacity will be hiked to receive ships with tonnage of 50,000 DWT and handle over five million tonnes of cargos per year to meet clients’ increasing demand. The port’s cadres and staffs always make efforts to accomplish its organisation apparatus and operations so as to gradually improve service quality to best serve clients. The Cam Ranh port will join hands with Vinalines to carry out investment projects through 2020.

 

The port’s management board plans to build one more wharf and container with 230 metres in length, 30 metres in width and a capacity to receive ships with tonnage of 50,000 DWT and a dock for 5,000-DWT ships. Two solid turning bridges with a loading capacity of 40 tonnes, and mobile bridge with a loading capacity of between 60 tonnes and 100 tonnes will be built in addition to investment in buying excavators and lifters to serve cargo loading and unloading. They will also build two 6,000-sq.m stores and restore a 60,000-sq.m goods storing site during the period. Due attention will be paid to investment in modernizing technology to enhance loading capacity, minimize good losses and damages during loading and unloading in combination with diversification of services to serve clients’ increasing demand. The current general wharf and container will be used for special purposes and one more wharf will be built by 2020 while container stores, repairing areas, equipment and technologies will also be upgraded.