Ho Chi Minh City is developing a system of seaports to facilitate trade activities between the city and its vicinity.
The city is currently home to 38 seaports with a total length of
nearly 13 kilometres, including Tan Cang – Cat Lai, Saigon , and Saigon
Premiere Container Terminal (SPCT).
According to
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan, the city’s
seaports handled 109 million tonnes of cargo and generated over 15
trillion VND (705 million USD) in 2014, an annual rise of 15.3 percent.
The outcomes were attributable to the city’s investment in key transport infrastructure projects.
The completion of the second phase of the Soai Rap dredging project is
an example. The project worth 2.8 trillion VND (131.5 million USD) was
commissioned in late June 2014, enabling faster navigation and handling
30,000-50,000 dead weight tonnage ships.
The total volume of goods transported via the river in 2014 reached 7.2 million tonnes, a yearly increase of 16 percent.
The Saigon New Port company manages 16 ports, including two
inland container depots (ICD) from the south to the north. The Cat Lai
port in District 2 is listed in the top 34 modern and big container
ports in the world.
According to the national
seaport development plan through 2020, Ho Chi Minh City is the
southeast region’s key port with functional wharf areas of Hiep Phuoc on
Soai Rap River and Cat Lai on Dong Nai River .
The region’s seaports are expected to handle 185-200 million tonnes of
cargo in 2015, 265-305 million tonnes in 2020, and 495-650 million
tonnes in 2030.
Le Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of
the municipal Department of Transport, said the city is relocating
Saigon New Port , Ba Son shipyard, Nha Rong-Khanh Hoi port,
Vegetable port and Tan Thuan Dong Port on the Saigon River .
Ho Chi Minh City is planning 2,000 hectares for the
construction of the Hiep Phuoc urban industrial complex along the Soai
Rap River which could welcome 50,000-70,000 dead weight tonnage ships
from the East Sea to the Hiep Phuoc seaports cluster, reducing transport
time and increasing goods exchanges between the city and Mekong Delta
localities as well as other industrial hubs in the southeast region.
Apart from investing in developing the seaports system in Cat Lai and
Hiep Phuoc regions, the city is focusing on connecting the land and
waterway transport networks such as belt roads No. 2, 3 and 4 linking
the city with the Hiep Phuoc port and industrial park, the HCM City-Long
Thanh-Dau Giay highway, and the Ben Luc-Long Thanh highway.
The city will also build a railway connecting Hiep Phuoc port with
Long Dinh station in Can Duoc district and Long An international port in
Can Giuoc district.-VNA