With a 115-year history of construction and development, founded in 1901, Da Nang Port has proved its role and importance in local socioeconomic development as well as its status as the largest deepwater seaport in central Vietnam. Its cargo throughput always leads the region.
Convergence of competitive advantages
Lying in the Da Nang Bay with a total area of 12 square kilometres and having a convenient traffic system, Da Nang Port is an important link in logistics service chains in central Vietnam. It is also chosen as the final destination of the East-West Economic Corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam and as the main gateway to the East Sea and to the whole region.
With the ardent aspiration of becoming a leading international trade gateway for the region, Da Nang Port has made continuous efforts to modernise and professionalise its operations to supply perfect port services and link with logistics chains. In order to meet economic integration requirements and modernise its port operations, Da Nang Port has constantly improved its working capacity by investing in more facilities, upgrading wharf systems to serve bigger ships (especially giant container ships, passenger ships and bulk carriers).
At present, Da Nang Port is comprised of Tien Sa Port Enterprises and its member companies. It owns nearly 1,200 metres of berths and wharves capable of handling cargo ships of 50,000 DWT, container vessels of 2,500 TEUs and passenger ships of 150,000 GRT. The wharf system with modern lifting equipment and warehouses enables the port to serve 8 million tonnes of cargo a year. Advantageously, the traffic route linking Da Nang Port with national road systems is already smooth, thus enhancing its competitiveness on shorter travelling time and reduced transport costs for customers.
Meaningful figures
By utilising its advantages of prime location, modern infrastructure, advanced equipment, skilled workers and professional executives for higher productivity and higher service quality, in the past years, Da Nang Port has continuously reaped impressive achievements, strongly transformed into a versatile and prestigious seaport in Vietnam and in the world, and exceeded annual cargo throughput and revenue plans. In the past five years, Da Nang Port has always maintained its strong annual cargo throughput growth of 13 per cent (container throughput stably grew 24 per cent a year on average). Container cargo has at all times accounted for more than 50 per cent of total cargo throughput. In 2016 alone, cargo throughput reached 7.25 million tonnes, up 13 per cent over 2015, of which container goods made up for 320,000 TEUs, up 24 per cent year on year.
Currently, 14 container shipping lines regularly anchor their ships at Da Nang Port and serve more than 40 container shell firms in Vietnam and abroad. 2016 also saw more ship calls at the port. On average, Da Nang Port received 22 - 23 container carriers a week, much higher than in 2015 (17 calls a week). It is a frequent destination for international cargo ships from Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea) as well as from Europe and America, including global concerns like Wanhai, Maersk, SITC and Yangmin.
In 2016, Da Nang Port welcomed 73 cruiser calls with 135,000 passengers and crew on board. Notably, in the fourth quarter of 2016, it completed upgrading Wharf No. 5 and welcomed Genting Dream - one of the world's largest and most luxurious cruise ships, which docks at the poor every week. This result has helped Da Nang Port to keep its status as the No. 1 container port in central Vietnam and affirmed its position as a major seaport of the region.
To a new height
In the second quarter of 2016, Da Nang Port started the second phase expansion of Tien Sa Port, which cost nearly VND1,000 billion. Once completed, the facility is expected to serve cargo ships of 50,000 DWT and container ships of 3,000 TEUs, bringing the port’s cargo throughput to 12 million tonnes a year. In 2017, Da Nang Port will focus on speeding up the completion of the expansion project in order to put it into operation soon, expected in February 2018.
In addition, at the end of 2016, Da Nang Port started operating the third QCC crane. This is the first feeder server crane in Vietnam with an arm reach of 40 metres and 15-row container wharves. Besides, Da Nang Port continued to add equipment and machinery to serve production, notably the FCC crane.
In 2017, the cargo throughput at Da Nang Port was estimated to reach 7.8 million tonnes, including 380,000 TEUs of container goods. In the year, the port will also conduct feasibility study on deployment of a barge system to support the transfer of cargo from Tien Sa Port to Lien Chieu Port and vice versa to minimise transport costs for customers.
Remarking on logistics business, Mr Nguyen Huu Sia - General Director of Da Nang Port, said, the port is planning to invest in establishing a depot system in Hoa Nhon area (Hoa Vang district - Da Nang City) to boost up the development of logistics operations in the whole region and the East-West Economic Corridor. By developing this region into an ICD (inland clearance depot) centre, Da Nang Port is capable of acting an important role in the logistics service chain for the Central Key Economic Zone. “Currently, we are asking for permit from the Da Nang People's Committee to allow Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) and Da Nang Port to invest in the first phase of Lien Chieu Port. By 2024, a part of cargo will be handled by Lien Cheu Port to ease burdens on Tien Sa Port. If approved, Vinalines and Da Nang Port will concentrate all investment resources to build Lien Chien Port from 2020,” he said.
Thanh Tung
Vietnamese
