$2.1 bln Mekong Delta seaport calls for private investment

The first-phase development of Tran De Seaport in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang will cost around VND50 trillion ($2.1 billion), to be sourced from private investors, according to Vietnam’s newly-approved port master plan.

The major seaport project is part of the plan until 2030 with a vision to 2050 approved by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on Monday.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport said in June it backed the province when replying to Soc Trang’s proposal to build the seaport under the public-private partnership (PPP) format and conduct a pre-feasibility study using the state budget.

The transport ministry added that Tran De is set to be developed with private resources in line with socio-economic development demands and investors’ capabilities.

Tran De is currently a fishing port. According to the provincial plan, the seaport will serve as a gateway to the Mekong Delta, and be able to receive vessels of up to 160,000 deadweight tons (DWT) and handle 30-35 million tons of goods a year by 2030.

By 2050 and beyond, the seaport will receive vessels of up to 200,000 DWT and handle 80-100 million tons of goods annually.

Among the seaport projects listed in the master plan and to be carried out jointly with state capital investment until 2025, the one with the highest investment is an infrastructure project for the whole Lien Chieu Port cluster in the central coastal city of Danang. VND3.43 trillion ($145 million) has been approved for this development until 2025.

This group of projects includes the phase-two development of a river passage for large vessels to navigate the Hau River (a main branch of the Mekong) with VND2.23 trillion ($94 million), and upgrades to the Cai Mep-Thi Vai passage in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, from the zero buoy to the Cai Mep container terminal, with VND1.42 trillion ($59.8 million).

In the 2026-2030 period, it is planned that the state will allocate VND8 trillion ($338 million) to build the Nam Do Son breakwater in the central province of Thanh Hoa, together with dredging the waterway passage.

The period also includes a project to dredge the passage to ports in Cam Pha town and the Net Island transshipment area in Quang Ninh province in the north (VND1.5 trillion or $63.2 million), a project to upgrade Cua Lo passage in the central province of Nghe An for ships of 30,000 tons at full load, and a breakwater north of Cua Lo Port. The latter project will cost VND1.02 trillion (nearly $43 million).

The master plan also includes the Cai Mep Ha Port and Logistics Complex Project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, to be carried out between 2025 and 2030 at an estimated cost of VND23 trillion ($971.5 million).