Saigon Port, Vietnam's leading port operator and a member of the Vietnam Seaports Association (VPA), is seeking government approval for two new joint ventures which will be separately undertaken with APM Terminals and Singapore's PSA.
The JVs will be responsible for building and operating container ports in the province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, located on the coast of the country's southern region and 125 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City.
The joint venture with APM Terminals, a member of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, entails the construction of two wharves with an annual capacity of 950,000 TEU. A statement from Saigon Port authorities said the capital investment in the terminal project will be US$187 million.
The new box terminal will be upstream from the Cai Mep International Container Port. It takes a vessel one hour to reach Cap Mei from the main shipping lane, which has a 14-metre draught.
The plan calls for a four-berth terminal with an eventual annual container handling capacity of 1.5 million TEU to be built over two phases downstream from the Thi Vai International General Port. The first phase of development is estimated to cost US$165 million to build and is scheduled to commence operations in 2010. The second phase to be completed by 2017 is expected to cost $133 million.
Saigon Port will hold a 51 per cent stake in both projects, which are part of a government plan to relocate ports away from the urban area of Ho Chi Minh City to less constricted areas. Thi Vai River has been identified as a viable location for the development of large new ports as it is able to accommodate ships weighing up to 80,000 tons).
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