A UK oil vessel at Van Phong Bay in the central province of Khanh Hoa (Photo: VNA)
Khanh Hoa (VNA) – The NhaTrang Port JSC has received a licence to revive Van Phong Port in the central province of Khanh Hoa, which stalled several years ago after the original investor ran out of funds.
Hoang Dinh Phi, deputy head of the Van Phong Economic Zone – where the port will come up – said an investment certificate has been issued for the 417 billion VND (18.7 million USD) first phase of the port.
The port, to come up on 42.21 hectares in Van Thanh commune in Van Ninh district, can berth 50,000 tonne vessels and handle 1.5-2 million tonnes of cargo a year.
After 2020 the port will get two more terminals that can handle 1-1.5 million TEU of cargo a year.
The work will be funded by internal resources (200 billion VND or 8.9 million USD) and loans or sale of stakes (217 billion VND or 9.6 million USD), according to the NhaTrang Port JSC.
The company, which operates a tourist port in NhaTrang, is partly private, with conglomerate Vingroup owning nearly 35 percent.
First approved in 2007, Van Phong International Transshipment Port was to be Vietnam’s biggest port.
Work began in October 2009, but Vinalines called it off after nearly a year due to lack of funds. It hoped to change the design to reduce the cost, but the Government rejected its demand and took away the project from it.-VNA
