The Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Terminal Co Ltd (TCIT) is a 30-year venture between the military port operator and the Republic of Korea’s Hanjin Shipping, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines, and Taiwan’s Wanhai Line with a charter capital of US$39 million.
The four are respectively the largest operators in their own markets with the Taiwanese firm also being the leading marine carrier within Asia.
Cai Mep, with a depth of over 15m, can accommodate vessels of up to 80,000DWT.
The Cai Mep project has been divided into two phases. Phase I with a berth 300m long and a 20-hectare container yard will open in the second quarter of this year, becoming the first deep-sea port in the country.
Phase 2 will add 400ha and include two berths with a total length of 590 metres. It will cost VND3.42 trillion.
Rear Admiral Nguyen Van Hien, chairman of Sai Gon Newport, said his company operates three ports, two inland container depots, four barge quays, and three midstream facilities with a total area of 438 ha.
The company plans to develop terminals in several ports. Hien said later this year the company would conduct a feasibility study for Do Son Sea Port in the north and establish a new joint venture to operate ports in the region.
HCM City would see average container import-export growth of over 20 percent annually over the next five years, he said.
In addition to Cai Mep, the company has four other joint venture ports now under construction that will become operational next year.
Gun-Sik Choi, executive vice president of Hanjin Shipping, said: “It is our hope that the Tan Cang-Cai Mep Terminal not only becomes the gateway to southern Vietnam but also, in time, a main port in Southeast Asia.”
Masakazu Yakushiji, executive vice president of Mitsui OSK, said: “I believe the operation of this new terminal will strengthen our position in Southeast Asia and will be a key to our future expansion plans in this region.”
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