My Thuy Port might be kicked off in 2018

November 04, 2017 | 12:11

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With foreign investors lining up, My Thuy International Seaport in the central province of Quang Tri will likely be kicked off in early 2018, according to the Quang Tri Department of Planning and Investment.

The planning of My Thuy International Seaport project

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has green-lighted the development of My Thuy International Seaport project which will take place in three stages to ensure its feasibility.

In a document sent to Quang Tri on October 31, MoT agreed with the plan to first develop four piers by 2020. In the second stage three other piers will be built by 2030, and three more in the third stage.

This adjustment was made following comments from MoT, which said that the earlier-proposed project is too much bigger than the detailed planning for ports of the central region including Quang Tri.

According to a VIR source, the investor, My Thuy International Port Joint Venture Company (MTIP), has finished the feasibility study of the project.

"As many as 14 investors have showed interests in the project. If everything goes smoothly, we plan to kick it off in early 2018," a senior official of the province told VIR.

Getting in-principle approval from the government in April 2017, the project has been stuck since then as Quang Tri and MoT failed to reach a consensus on the capacity of the $630-million project.

MoT suggested that the province carefully consider the volume of goods forecast to be shipped via the port. Particularly, the volume of goods from industrial zones (IZs) in the South East Economic Zone and other IZs in the province, as well as goods in transit for Laos, the East-North region of Thailand in the East-West Economic Corridor.

According to MoT, the volume of goods shipped via My Thuy Port is estimated to be 18.36 million tonnes by 2020 and 35.75 million tonnes by 2030, much higher than the 1.1 million and 1.5 million tonnes projected in the detailed planning for ports of the central region.

Located in Hai Lang district, My Thuy Port will work as a transshipment port for goods in the East-West Economic Corridor, thus creating a driving force to attract more investors to the province.

At present, many projects in the South East EZ are awaiting the project’s approval. About 10 projects have been so far registered in the EZ with a total investment capital sum of VND62.3 trillion ($2.83 billion), focusing on seaport services, thermal power, energy, and infrastructure.