HCM City to move ports out to ease congestion on roads

Ho Chi Minh City will continue to move its ports to its outskirts to ease congestion on roads outside them and build new ones under a national port master plan for 2020-2030.

According to the city's response to the Department of Transport's proposals, a number of ports along the Sai Gon River will be relocated or converted for other use under the plan by 2030.

It also outlined plans to expand Cat Lai Port on the Dong Nai River to be able to berth ships of up to 30,000DWT.

It will get an additional 600m of wharf adjacent to Ben Nghe port in District 9.

Situated at the city’s eastern gate, Cat Lai has for long been a traffic hotspot with 16,000-17,000 trucks making trips to it daily.

In the case of ports on the Nha Be, the city will upgrade their wharves and modernise cargo handling equipment.

Since 2013 HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai and Ba Ria – Vung Tau have not licensed the construction of new ports or expansion of existing ones.

A number of ports have been relocated from the inner city, including Sai Gon New Port in Binh Thanh District, Ba Son shipyard in District 1 and Sai Gon Port in District 4, partially.

Proposed Can Gio seaport 

City authorities are planning to build a port capable of handling container ships of up to 200,000DWT in the outlying district of Can Gio.

Under a port development plan for 2021-30, the city's Department of Transport suggested four locations in Can Gio District and the People’s Committee has approved three of them.

The first is in Binh Khanh Commune adjacent to the Long Tau River and conveniently connected with the Ben Luc-Long Thanh expressway, now under construction. It will spread over 250ha and be capable of berthing ships of 30,000-50,000DWT. 

The second is in Long Hoa Commune. The 150ha port will be capable of handling container ships of up to 150,000DWT and cruise vessels of 200,000GT.

The third is a port near Ong Cho Islet that can berth container ships of up to 200,000DWT. Its location is close to the Cai Mep-Thi Vai and Sai Gon-Vung Tau navigation routes, and so will be able to receive large ships and serve as a specialised and trans-shipment point for inland water transport.

A location the city rejected, since it is too close to the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, is close to the Long Tau River in Thanh An Commune. 

Recently, Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung approved the development of the port master plan as part of efforts to achieve sustainable development of the marine economy in the period through 2030.

It includes measures to improve the efficiency seaport investment and ensure simultaneous development of ports and other transport infrastructure.

According to the HCM City Maritime Port Administration, between 2015 and 2020, 166.3 million tonnes of goods passed through HCM City ports, whereas the target is only 159.9 million tonnes by 2030.

The country now has 44 ports, according to the Vietnam Marine Administration.