Vietnam starts building Haiphong port project

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday launched an order to start the construction of the international gateway port in the northern city of Haiphong after nine years of preparation, reported Vietnam News Brief Service.

Haiphong international gateway port or Lach Huyen seaport is considered one of the country’s major infrastructure projects. It is scheduled for completion in 2016 and expected to play a part in transforming Vietnam into a strong sea nation.

The port will have modern cargo-handling equipment and be capable of receiving container ships of up to 8,000 TEUs. It is expected to handle 12.8 million-13.1 million tonness of cargo by 2016.

Addressing the ceremony, PM Dung underscored the importance of the port’s construction to the long-term socio-economic development of Haiphong, particularly when the existing Haiphong port is overloaded and fails to meet the growing demand for marine transportation.

Construction of the port is divided into two parts. Part one, with investment of over US$885 million sourced from Japanese official development assistance, is managed by the Vietnam Marine Administration. It covers the building of port infrastructure.

The second part, a joint venture of Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises will build two wharves with a total length of 750m capable of handling 100,000-tonne container ships.