Maersk eyes international deep-water port project in central Vietnam

A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk), a Danish integrated transport and logistics giant, is eyeing opportunities to build a deep-water port in Danang city, an economic hub in central Vietnam.

Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of Maersk, made the statement at a meeting with Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang at the ministry's headquarters in Hanoi last Saturday.

Maersk is currently involved in three main activities in Vietnam, namely maritime transport, large-sized container transportation services, and logistics for inland ports.

The company is considered the largest firm of its kind in Asia. In Vietnam, Maersk is investing in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and together with Vietnamese firm Hateco, the giant built and inaugurated a deep-water port in Hai Phong city last Saturday.

At the meeting, Thang congratulated Robert Maersk Uggla and his company's partner Hateco on their "successful inauguration" of the Hateco International Container Port in Hai Phong.

He said that along with economic development, Vietnam has for many years focused on developing strategic transport infrastructure, from roads and sea routes to airways, in a synchronous, smart, green and modern manner.

"This is also the Vietnamese Government's orientation to improve the efficiency of the economy, creating favorable conditions for businesses through developing logistics chains to connect Vietnam with the world," said the Minister.

"In the field of seaports, Vietnam is focusing on building large seaports as planned, strengthening the connection between seaports and inland waterway ports to reduce logistics costs for businesses," he added.

Regarding the group's desire to participate in the development of the Lien Chieu-Da Nang port, Minister Thang said that the Vietnamese legislature had passed a resolution on the pilot establishment of the Danang Free Trade Zone associated with Lien Chieu seaport.

Thang said the ministry hopes to receive support from large enterprises, especially those with experience in the transportation sector, to "jointly build the first free trade zone as well as standard seaports to promote trade, so that Vietnam can become an international and regional goods trading center".

The Minister expressed his delight that Maersk and other professional investors in the port field are interested in bidding for large port projects, together with domestic partners, like the Lien Chieu seaport.

"I suggest that Maersk and Hateco, if interested in the project, participate in the bidding Danang will organize to select investors."

Thang also affirmed that the Ministry of Finance is ready to support and facilitate the group to develop its business in Vietnam most efficiently, contributing to the overall development of the country.

Danang is a port hub in central Vietnam. The city is also one of the most popular beach destinations in the country and Asia.

The government plans to develop a regional financial center in Danang and an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

Hateco Hai Phong International Container Port (HHIT) is located at Hai Phong city's Lach Huyen port area. This deep-water seaport was invested entirely with private capital.

The port has a total area of 73 hectares, a wharf length of 900 m, and a depth before the wharf from -16.8 m to -18.4 m. It is capable of receiving two large container ships of up to 200,000 DWT (≥ 18,000 TEU) at the same time, with a maximum ship length of 400 m.

The establishment of the port marks an important turning point in Vietnam's maritime sector, contributing to promoting international trade and creating economic development momentum for northern Vietnam and the whole country.

With berths 5 and 6 invested with most modern technology, Hateco port will be the first smart port in Vietnam with automatic entrance and exit gates and semi-automatic wharfs which are capable of receiving the largest ships in the world.

In particular, this is the first port in Vietnam to deploy the TAS (truck appointment system), helping drivers be more proactive, save time, and improve operational efficiency.

At the inauguration event, Nguyen Duc Tho, Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee, said that the volume of goods through Hai Phong ports has always increased at a high rate, from 12-15%/year, to 190 million tons in 2024 and expectedly 212 million tons in 2025.

The Lach Huyen port area is planned to function as a gateway combined with international transit, with container terminals catering for bulk cargo and liquid/gas cargo. This port complex is capable of receiving container ships of up to 18,000 TEU, bulk cargo ships of up to 100,000 tons, liquid/gas cargo ships of up to 150,000 tons, and passenger ships of up to 225,000 GT (gross tonnage).

"The project of berths 5 and 6 at the Lach Huyen port area, invested by Hateco, has become the first deep-water seaport infrastructure development project in Vietnam to be built with private capital sources," Tho noted.

After more than 30 months of construction, with more than 1,500 workers and the coordination of 100 contractors and consultants, the project was completed two months ahead of schedule.

Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of Maersk, remarked the Hateco port is the most modern and largest deep-water container port in northern Vietnam.