Seaports in Mekong Delta Planned for Economic Growth

The government has ratified detailed plans of the Mekong River Delta Seaport group up to the year 2010, which will open chances to promote the economic potential of shipping, meet transportation demands and improve the competitiveness of this area. It also creates balanced comprehensive development for seaports as well as other related infrastructure in the area in order to attract more investment and speed up the process of industrialisation and modernisation.

 

According to statistics, the Mekong Delta, with a population of 17 million, has the cargo throughputs of 10.5 – 12.5 million tonnes per year. In 2005, rice exports alone reached 5 million tonnes, four times more than 1991 and accounting for 80 per cent of the country’s rice exports.

 

However, the paradox is that 70 per cent of imports from the Mekong Delta are transported through the Ho Chi Minh City’s seaport system. This increases the transportation costs, reduces competitive advantages and causes pressure of overloading and overland traffic jams. Because of narrow current in main rivers (such as Dinh An sea mouth of Hau river and Tieu sea mouth of Tien river) it is hard for ships of over 5,000 DWT to get in and out.

 

In Dinh An sea mouth, 30 kilometres of the riverbed has been partly filled with sand and soil. So the water dept is just 3 meters and is uneven. In order to receive ships of 3,000 – 5,000 DWT, it is necessary to dredge the riverbed at a cost of VND2.9–14 billion a year but the resulting depth remains for only two to three months.

 

Currently, in order to maintain marine traffic, a large sum has been paid to investigating routes, adjusting the marking buoys to natural water level, updating marine reports twice to three times a month, so the seaport at Tieu sea mouth can receive only ships of 2,000 – 3,000 DWT. Based on the actual situation, orientation and the socio–economic comprehensive development plan of this area, with the consideration to capacity of the neighbouring seaport groups (Group 5 and 7), the Department of the Marine forecasts that the cargo transported by sea of the Mekong Delta will be 18 to 20 million tonnes in 2010 and 30-35 million tonnes in 2020. This will put stronger and stronger pressure on the marine transportation system of the Mekong Delta.

 

 

The decision No. 1024/QQÄ-TTG of the Prime Minister, which ratified the detailed planning of the seaport group in the Mekong Delta, highlighted the necessity of facilitating large tonnage ships to approach this area. Thus, from now on to 2010, they will continue investigating, improving and rectifying the Dinh An current (including a solution of creating a new stream far from Dinh An estuary). They will improve and enlarge the Quan Chanh Bo access channel for sea ships of 10,000 – 20,000 DWT. With the non-refundable aid of US$1 million from the World Bank, the marine way project management committee cooperates with the Portcoast Consultant Joint Stock Co., SNC-Lavalin (Canada) and Royal Haskoning (Holland) to investigate the Dinh An sea mouth area. Three solutions have been introduced. First, improving an active current through Dinh An sea mouth by adjusting the marking buoys to the natural depth and annual dredges of the riverbed. Second, build two new canals to avoid the Dinh An sea mouth that will go through Quanh Chanh canal to the East Sea. Third, build an offshore floating port.

 

Currently the part of Hau river from Can Tho to Quan Chanh Bo canal (Dai An) is safely deep enough for ships of 10,000 DWT. However, there are many scattered alluvial plains and dunes in 30 kilometres of the river to Dinh An sea mouth where is only 3 meters deep or even lower at the tide. According to SNC – Lavalin, the riverbed should be dredged down to 6.5 metres deeper for ships of 10,000 DWT.

 

Under the factual conditions of increasing expense and the amount of mud to be dredged and short duration of the depth achieved through dredging, the solution to continue dredging Dinh An current to develop Can Tho main sea port group proves economically and technically unworkable. Another solution of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam to report the Prime Minister is to dig a shortcut canal. According to this, out of Dinh An sea mouth, Quan Bo Chanh canal (in the area of Tra Vinh province) is from Hau River to the East Sea. This canal is quite long so they need only use 20 kilometres and newly dig 9 kilometres of shortcut canal to the East Sea. This is also the location which least extended by soil in the area between Tien and Hau Rivers. This new canal will be called the Quan Chanh Bo shortcut and will have a depth of 6.5-8.5 metres, the riverbed width of 85-150 meters and the surface width of 200 meters. However many idioms said that, digging a new canal cannot avoid the extending of soil from both sides of the riverbanks. Building two 1.5 – 2.5 kilometre long breakwaters can repair this. The two breakwaters will prevent 95 percent of soil deposited from the current and two banks. It is necessary to dredge 3 – 4 kilometres of Quan Bo Chanh canal near Dai An sea mouth with the average dept of 6.5 metres and surface of 150 – 250 metres. According to calculations, the total amount of mud to be dredged from this canal is up to 22 million cubic meters. When finished, this new ship route will have a duration of 25 years before it’s necessary to dredge it again. The total investment of the project is US$198 million, its management and operation expenses will beUS$1.4 million per year. The project is scheduled to be implemented in 2007 and come into use in 2010.

According to estimation of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, when the new shipway through the shortcut Quang Chanh Bo canal comes to force which allows ships of 10,000 – 20,000 DWT, a large transportation expense (which is US$7 per tonne of cargo on average) will be saved. Then, maximum ability to pass goods of sea ports in the Mekong Delta will be 16.4 million tonnes in 2010 and, and more than 20 million tons in 2020. Of which, that ability of seaport groups of Can Tho, My Tho, Binh Minh, Tra Cu … will account for 40 –50 per cent. So, by the year 20210 the money saved from reducing US$7 per tonnes of cargo for ships in this way is equivalent to US$45 million. And by the year 2020 this number will go up to US$70 million.

 

The efficiency of this project will speed up the regional economic growth, improve trade and goods exchange and facilitate the enlargement of Can Tho seaport to become the main port of the entire region.

 

According to the oriented programming up to the year 2020, Can Tho seaport group will become the main seaport group of the Mekong Delta and the key port for marine trade. As expected, the capacity of this seaport group (including seaports of Cai Cui, Hoang Dieu and Tra Noc) by the year 2020 will be 7-8 million tonnes per year.

 

Besides, the Government encourages the study and building a float seaport on the sea. This project’s size will depend on the ability of capital and technical mobilization of its management and exploiting enterprises in order to select either the form of float seaport or a seaport by the coast. By the year 2020, a detailed study of the ability of build a floating hard surface seaport at a suitable position over the sea for ships of 3,000-50,000 DWT will be implemented.