Gov't puts halt to foot-dragging transshipment port project

The suspension to the startup period of the project has been given by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai in an express document notified by the Government Office to the Ministry of Transport.

The project, totally funded by Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), was begun nearly three years ago, on October 31, 2009.

But the work there has stopped after the 114 stakes were successfully laid in the Van Phong Bay since then.

According to the notification, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has assigned the Ministry of Transport to guide Vinalines in stopping the project in accordance with the law.

Hai also asked the ministry to direct the Vietnam Maritime Administration to set up plans to call for domestic and foreign investments in the construction of the port under any appropriate forms.

The international transshipment port project, located in Hon Gom Peninsula in Van Phong Bay, was approved by the Ministry of Transport in 2009, and Vinalines was licenced as the main investor then.

The total initial investment approved in 2007 was only about VND1.1 trillion, but Vinalines then continuously adjusted it, raising it by six folds to nearly VND6.2 trillion two years later.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in October 2011.

However, as reported by the project monitoring unit, the work there has stopped since June 2010 after Vinalines paid VND146 billion for South Korea-based SK Engineering & Construction in advance.

SK Engineering & Construction, in partnership with the Vietnam Waterway Construction Corp (Vinawaco), are the main construction contractors for first two jetties. But they had bought 544 substandard steel stakes, and just finished laying 114 out of 1.729 stakes in total.

Overambitious plan?

The $3.6 billion transshipment port, a key national project undertaken by Vinalines, is capable of receiving over 200 million tons of goods per year and container ships of up to 17,000-TEU in capacity, according to the Voice of Vietnam.

As part of a general plan for Vietnam’s seaport network by 2020, Van Phong port will be the sole international transshipment port of the country.

The construction project is divided into four stages with the initial stage scheduled to be completed by 2011.

The first stage will be implemented  on an area of 118-125 hectares in 2010-2015.

In the second stage, eight container ship wharves will be built on an area of 405 hectares with a total port length of 4,450-5,710 meters able to receive 12,000 TEU ships.

For the last stage, 25 wharves receiving 17,000 TEU containers ships will be built on an area of 750 ha with a port length from 11,880-12,590 meters.