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. 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 tons of cargoes 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 VND18.6 trillion ($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 with more than VND6.57 trillion in investment, will build two wharves with a total length of 750 meters, capable of handling 100,000-ton container ships. Once operational, Haiphong International Gateway Port will direct exports from the country’s northern region to U.S. and European markets and vice versa without having to go through Singapore or Hong Kong’s ports. (nhandan.org.vn Apr 14, Dau Tu – Investmemt Apr 15 p4, Tuoi Tre – Youth Apr 15 p2)
