Planned Can Gio transshipment port to drive HCMC region’s growth: city mayor

Ho Chi Minh City’s $5.9 billion Can Gio transshipment port project is expected to fuel the development of southeastern Vietnam, not hindering the region’s operating port system, says city chairman Phan Van Mai.

Mai made clear the point at a conference held Sunday by the Politburo, the premier decision-making body of Vietnam’s Communist Party, on its new resolution for the region’s socio-economic development until 2030, with vision until 2045, chaired by Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong.

The HCMC chairman noted that the ambitious project would help enhance the competitive advantages of the southeastern region and Vietnam, attracting great FDI inflows. This would be a complement to the Cai Mep-Thi Vai seaport cluster in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province nearby.

HCMC’s coastal district of Can Gio is located at the beginning of the Cai Mep-Thi Vai navigational route with great depth and in an area close to international maritime routes. This is an important condition for forming a port system and developing international container transshipment services.

This March, Vietnam Maritime Corp. (VIMC) proposed the Prime Minister, Ministry of Transport, Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises, and Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee support its subsidiary Saigon Port’s plans to join hands with Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company to build and operate an international container terminal in Can Gio district.

VIMC said the establishment of a large-scale logistics service center was expected to bring positive effects and facilitate the development of commercial, financial, and maritime services.

The maritime major added that it would be an effective solution to successfully realize the goal of turning logistics into a spearhead sector of HCMC, Vietnam’s largest economic hub, maintaining its role as the logistics center of the region.

After the VIMC proposal, HCMC has come up with its plans to join hands with the Swiss giant in developing the Can Gio international transshipment port project, estimated to cost $5.9 billion to build. The plans include seven investment phases, which would last until 2040.

The southeastern region comprises of Ho Chi Minh City and the five provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, and Tay Ninh.