A view of the Lach Huyen container terminal in Hai Phong city (Illustrative photo: VNA)According to Dau tu (VietnamInvestment Review), MSC Chairman Gianluigi Aponte is scheduled to arrive inHanoi and HCM City this week to meet leaders of the Vietnamese Government, relevantministries and sectors, HCM City, and Vietnamese partners to discuss the CanGio international transit terminal - an ambitiousproject worth about 6 billion USD that the MSC and its subsidiary TerminalInvestment Limited (TIL) are pursuing.
It comes within a cooperation framework on developing seaport infrastructure andlogistics services that MSC/TIL signed with VIMC and its subsidiary Saigon PortJSC on November 4, 2021 in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhduring his visit to France.
Gianluigi Aponte and CEO of MSC/TIL Ammar Kanaan were also present at thatsigning ceremony.
Meeting PM Chinh, they pledged to bring along the international cargo transited inregional countries to the Vietnamese terminal - a factor believed to the best guaranteefor the success of the Can Gio project.
Meanwhile,the Vietnamese leader welcomed MSC/TIL’s cooperation proposal, asking the firmto boost investment in the seaport sector and increase the volume of goodstransited in the country. He also said he will order relevant ministries andsectors to create the best possible conditions for MSC/TIL, VIMC and SaigonPort to carry out this project.
In a report sent to theMinistry of Transport on July 5, VIMC affirmed MSC/TIL’shigh evaluation of the planned location for the terminal (on Phu Loi Islet), aswell as opportunities to turn this future terminal into a major gateway for internationaltrading in the region.
In a document recently submitted to PM Chinh, the HCM CityPeople’s Committee proposed the leader assign the Ministry of Transport to workwith the committee and relevant agencies to assess advantages, opportunitiesand possibility of the Can Gio project.
With about 7.2km of wharves, this project is expected to be capableof handling 10 - 15 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo andserving the world’s largest container ships (24,000 TEUs) at present.
It will be implemented in seven phases, the first of which ishoped to start in 2024 and become operational in 2027 while the last phase isset to be put into use in 2040.
According to the committee, the zoned Can Gio terminal areain the mouth of the Cai Mep River boasts favourable natural conditions forhandling container vessels with deadweight tonnage (DWT) of up to 250,000 (or24,000 TEUs), including its location on the shipping routes to Europe, Africaand the Americas. It holds conditions for developing an international transitterminal able to compete with regional countries and make a breakthrough forthe maritime economy in HCM City and Vietnam as a whole.
Cargo throughput in seaports of HCM City grew by 7.34% during2015 - 2020, and the rate is predicted at 5% during 2021 - 2025.
In 2021, the throughput stood at 164.19 million tonnes, accountingfor 23.36% of the total volume recorded at seaports nationwide./.
VNA
