Wave of momentum to make key port complex more competitive

The bottom has fallen out of the shipping industry, leaving many ports as ghost towns - Photo: Le Toan

In a meeting with Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang last week, APM Terminals in Asia-Pacific region CEO Henrik L. Pedersen proposed to connect three terminals to create an alliance under the common management.

The alliance includes Cai Mep International Terminal, SP-PSA International Port and SP-SSA International Container Terminal, which are jointly invested by state-run Vinalines and Denmark’s APM Terminals BV, Singapore’s PSA International, and Japanese-funded Cai Mep-Thi Vai International Container Terminal.

The port alliance will be able to accommodate three big players and Pedersen said this would develop the Cai Mep-Thi Vai complex into the top transshipment port in Vietnam.

Thang immediately asked the Vietnam Maritime Administration to work with APM Terminals for studying the establishment of this alliance.

As terminal operators at the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex are struggling to survive due to the decline of cargo and growing competition from terminals in neighbouring Ho Chi Minh City, the proposed alliance is considered as a solution helping operators from losses. This will also help these terminals to enhance their competitiveness against other rivals.

According to the recent report of Ba Ria-Vung Tau  Provincial People’s Committee, six container terminals in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex are operating at just around 15 per cent of their throughput capacity, that mirrors a dire situation for terminal operators at this time.

The cargo volume transported through this complex last year declined 6.5 per cent from 2011, forcing most of the terminals to reluctantly accept bulk cargo to reduce losses.

Terminal operators there complained that they saw no positive signal for the increase of cargo volume through this complex this year because they had to share a pie with terminals in Ho Chi Minh City.

During four years, from 2009 to 2012, five terminals were put into operation in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex. Besides Cai Mep International Terminal, SP-PSA International Port, others are SP-SSA International Container Terminal, which are jointly invested by state-run Vinalines and US’ SSA Marines, Saigon New Port’s Tan Cang-Cai Mep Container Terminal and Hutchison Port Holdings’ Saigon International Terminals.

In January, the Ministry of Transport inaugurated another container terminal, Cai Mep-Thi Vai International Container Terminal there, under the management of Japan’s operator Nippon Yusen Kaisha.