Vietnam province takes over Nha Trang port from debt-ridden Vinalines; mulls upgrade

April 19, 2016 | 09:08

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The administration of the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa is poised to turn the local Nha Trang port into an international tourist harbor, after taking over the facility from a loss-making company on Thursday.

The cargo port of Nha Trang is managed by Nha Trang Port JSC, a firm 61.41 percent owned by the government through the state-run Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines).

On Thursday, Vinalines signed a deal to transfer all of the state holdings, worth more than VND150 billion (US$6.7 million), to the Khanh Hoa administration, giving the province the authority to operate the port, located in the provincial capital city of Nha Trang.

Following the takeover, Khanh Hoa will turn the cargo port into Vietnam’s first-ever international tourist port, Tran Son Hai, standing deputy chairman of the provincial administration, said the same day.

The port will focus on receiving international tourists who arrive in the coastal province on luxury cruise ships, the official said, citing a plan approved by the government.

Cargo ships will then be transferred to dock at the province’s Cam Ranh Port, he added.

The Khanh Hoa administration hopes to receive at least 150,000 international visitors and one million domestic tourists via Nha Trang Port on an annual basis.

Vinalines is infamous for a serious corruption case in 2008 that eventually resulted in a death penalty for its former chairman Duong Chi Dung.

Dung and his accomplices were found to cause a loss of over VND366 billion ($17.4 million) to the state budget as of May 2012, through Vinalines’ purchase of an old floating dock, worth only $2.3 million, at $9 million in 2008.

He was sentenced to death in December 2013 on charges of “intentionally violating state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences” and “embezzlement.”

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