The city is currently home to 38 seaports with a total length ofnearly 13 kilometres, including Tan Cang – Cat Lai, Saigon , and SaigonPremiere Container Terminal (SPCT).
According toChairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan, the city’sseaports handled 109 million tonnes of cargo and generated over 15trillion VND (705 million USD) in 2014, an annual rise of 15.3 percent.
The outcomes were attributable to the city’s investment in key transport infrastructure projects.
The completion of the second phase of the Soai Rap dredging project isan example. The project worth 2.8 trillion VND (131.5 million USD) wascommissioned in late June 2014, enabling faster navigation and handling30,000-50,000 dead weight tonnage ships.
The total volume of goods transported via the river in 2014 reached 7.2 million tonnes, a yearly increase of 16 percent.
The Saigon New Port company manages 16 ports, including twoinland container depots (ICD) from the south to the north. The Cat Laiport in District 2 is listed in the top 34 modern and big containerports in the world.
According to the nationalseaport development plan through 2020, Ho Chi Minh City is thesoutheast region’s key port with functional wharf areas of Hiep Phuoc onSoai Rap River and Cat Lai on Dong Nai River .
The region’s seaports are expected to handle 185-200 million tonnes ofcargo in 2015, 265-305 million tonnes in 2020, and 495-650 milliontonnes in 2030.
Le Hoang Minh, Deputy Director ofthe municipal Department of Transport, said the city is relocatingSaigon New Port , Ba Son shipyard, Nha Rong-Khanh Hoi port,Vegetable port and Tan Thuan Dong Port on the Saigon River .
Ho Chi Minh City is planning 2,000 hectares for theconstruction of the Hiep Phuoc urban industrial complex along the SoaiRap River which could welcome 50,000-70,000 dead weight tonnage shipsfrom the East Sea to the Hiep Phuoc seaports cluster, reducing transporttime and increasing goods exchanges between the city and Mekong Deltalocalities as well as other industrial hubs in the southeast region.
Apart from investing in developing the seaports system in Cat Lai andHiep Phuoc regions, the city is focusing on connecting the land andwaterway transport networks such as belt roads No. 2, 3 and 4 linkingthe city with the Hiep Phuoc port and industrial park, the HCM City-LongThanh-Dau Giay highway, and the Ben Luc-Long Thanh highway.
The city will also build a railway connecting Hiep Phuoc port withLong Dinh station in Can Duoc district and Long An international port inCan Giuoc district.-VNA