Recently, Dong Tam Group and Vina Capital Group have recently kicked off the Long An international port, industrial service and urban zone in Tan Lap commune, Can Giuoc district, Long An province. In this complex, the Long An International Port is an important component.
New southern competitor
Lying 2.6 km along the Soai Rap River and 14 km from the harbour, Long An International Port is designed to accommodate ships with loads from 30,000 - 70,000 DWT. The port is expected to handle 2.5 million tonnes of cargo a year in the first phase (in 2013), 9.3 million tonnes in the tonnes in the second phase (2015) and 15 million tonnes in 2020. The US$1 billion project is scheduled to complete in 10 years with seven international wharves capable of receiving ships of 30,000 - 50,000 DWT and six wharves for domestic inland ships of 1,000 DWT. With its natural endowments (nearer to the sea than ports in HCM City) and its scale, this is an actual threat to Hiep Phuoc port complex in the largest city of Vietnam.
Mr Don Di Lam, General Director of VinaCapital, said, once completed, it will open a favourable international shipping route and will link to two major domestic waterway routes in Mekong Delta, namely HCM City - Kien Luong and HCM City - Ca Mau. These two important waterways help save money and time for local customers.
Apart from Long An, Tien Giang province is calling investment capital for two general port and industrial complexes in Go Cong Dong district, namely Soai Rap port complex in Vam Lang commune and Gia Thuan port complex in Gia Thuan commune. According to the development plan until 2020 and vision to 2030 recently approved by the Prime Minister, the No. 5 Port Group (including Long An, Tien Giang, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau) will be expanded in the direction of the Soai Rap River in Long An and Tien Giang provinces and in Con Dao Island.
Dr Truong Ngoc Tuong, Chief Engineer of Portcoast Consultant Corporation - a seaport designing and maritime technique consultant, said: The entire area of the No. 5 Port Group lies within the southern key economic zone - the most dynamic economic hub in the nation. Tuong said “The opening of Soai Rap canal for seagoing ships has made this land [HCM City, Long An and Tien Giang] more attractive to investors.” Geographically, according to Tuong, Tien Giang is the nearest to the sea, followed by Long An and Ho Chi Minh City. Hence, if Tien Gang and Long An complete their ports, HCM City will be at a disadvantage.
Eastern rival
The most challenging rival of HCM City is now Ba Ria - Vung Tau province which now has 53 seaports in total, including 17 seaports are in operation, 18 ports are under construction and 22 seaports in blue-print. Particularly, ports to be built in 2010 have a total investment capital of about VND2,221 billion. In the past ten years, since the Government has ratified the Vietnamese port development master plan, many ports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province have been built.
In late 2009, apart from small and medium ports like My Xua, Cai Mep Ha and Gemalink, PTSC started the construction on the largest port in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, which is designed to serve ships of 50,000 tonnes instead of current 30,000 tonnes. Both SP - PSA and Tan Cang - Cai Mep deepwater ports can receive ships of 80,000 tonnes. The development of PTSC has made significant contributions to port operations in the province. Tan Cang - Cai Mep deepwater port alone can handle 800,000 tonnes of container goods in 2010.
Obviously, it is not groundless when the authorities of Ba Ria - Vung Tau optimistically forecast that the province's port system is fully capable of handling over 120 million tonnes of goods each year in the near future. Besides, the distances from the province to Europe and Americas are shorter than other regional localities. This makes the competitiveness of Ba Ria - Vung Tau sharper.
Currently, in spite of numerous restraints like inconsistent road traffic with ocean shipping, the development of seaports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau quake rivals in Ho Chi Minh City.
First come, first served
The plan to build Hiep Phuoc Port to replace the Saigon Port - a long-standing pride and strength of Ho Chi Minh City - has become outdated in the current development trend as it was made in the 1990s. To build Hiep Phuoc Port, the top priority of HCM City is to dredge Soai Rap river bed. The city dredged 8.4 metres deep in the first time and 9.5 metres deep in 2010. In the future, HCM City is expected to continue digging to 12 m deep to serves vessels of 5,000 TEUs. But, the port production is reportedly sluggish here.
Since the Hiep Phuoc port development plan was adopted nearly 20 years, the Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT), a part of the Hiep Phuoc Port, started operations in late 2009 with a total capacity of 1.5 million TEUs a year. The Saigon - Hiep Phuoc Terminal, also belonging to the Hiep Phuoc Port, with a total berth length of 1.800 metres is expected to be put into operation in 2011 with an annual handling capacity of 18 million tonnes and is capable of receiving 50,000 DWT ships. When it starts operations in 2011, the first-phase of handling capacity reaches 8.7 million tonnes. Although other facilities like warehouse are good, the incoming and outgoing on the canal are quite difficult. (SGTT)
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