Southern Vietnam port flies high in world ranking

Cai Mep in Ba Ria-Vung Tau ranked 11th among world's best container ports in the Container Port Performance Index 2021 (CPPI), up from 49th place the previous year.

Vietnam's representative ranked 11th and 13th in statistical and administrative approaches respectively, according to a newly-released report by World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The Vietnamese port is rated above three major Asian hub ports including Malaysia's Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which ranked 16th, 31st, and 38th respectively in the statistical approaches board, and 18th, 31st, and 50th in the administrative approaches board.

In the statistical approaches board, Cai Mep is ahead of the Japanese port of Yokohama, which is rated 12th this year and has slid from first place in both approaches in 2020.

The two top-ranked container ports in the CPPI 2021 are Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port in first place, followed by Oman's Port of Salalah which came second.

Thirty-seven ports were new to the 2021 CCPI, and 149 improved their rankings compared to 2020 index, published last June.

The ports of East Asia and Southeast Asia are the CPPI's highlight, owing to the rapid spike in export volume during the Covid-19 outbreaks.

Last year, along with Cai Mep Port, another two Vietnamese ports named among the top 50 of the CCPI were Cai Lan International Container Terminal in the northern province of Quang Ninh (46th) and Hai Phong Port (47th).

Cai Mep Port, considered the most favorable location port in Southeast Asia, is one of 23 ports in the world that can accommodate ships of up to 250,000 tons. Furthermore, it is one of 50 seaports in the world with the largest container handling capacity.