The HCMC government has proposed developing an international container port in the outlying district of Can Gio with an estimated investment of some US$6 billion to aid the local marine economy.

In a proposal sent to the prime minister, the city stated that the port would have triple the capacity of the Cat Lai Port, the country’s current biggest. The port project with 7.2 kilometers of wharves is expected to receive 24,000-TEU containers, the largest available containers.

A view of the Cat Lai Port in Thu Duc City, HCMC (Photo: H.P.)

According to the HCMC government, wharves in Can Gio have favorable natural conditions, are located on international shipping lanes and can accommodate large vessels traveling between Vietnam and Europe, Africa and America.

Therefore, the district can accommodate an international container port to compete with other regional countries and make breakthroughs in the marine economy in HCMC and Vietnam.

The city said that a foreign firm had reported the project to the city and the Ministry of Transport after the relevant sides had signed a cooperation agreement on the seaport and logistics service development in the city.

According to the proposal by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, Vietnam Maritime Corporation and Saigon Port JSC, the project would be divided into seven phases, with the first phase expected to be kicked off in 2024 and put into operation in 2027. The final phase would be put into use in 2040.

The HCMC government also proposed developing the project in the 2021-2030 period.

Under a general plan for the development of Vietnam’s seaport system in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050 that the prime minister approved in September 2021, ports in Can Gio District are potential ones, serving the socioeconomic development in HCMC and nearby areas. They can receive vessels with a tonnage of 150,000 tons and above each.

With an annual capacity of 6.4 million TEUs, the Cat Lai Port in HCMC is currently the largest of its kind in Vietnam. The volume of cargo passing through the port accounts for 85% of the total passing through ports in the south and half of the total in the country.

Last year, more than 160 million tons of cargo went through seaports in HCMC, 2.6% higher than the plan for 2030. Therefore, the city considered the development of new seaport projects in the 2021-2030 period as necessary to meet the import-export demand in the city and the southern key economic zone.

Minh Hoang

(The Saigon Times)