HPH to develop Vietnam container port

A new joint venture company, Saigon International Terminals Vietnam Ltd (SITV), will be established to develop the terminal, which is currently a greenfield site but has existing road links to manufacturing centres. HPH will provide container handling facilities throughout the term of the 50-year concession.

SITV is situated in the Cai Mep and Thi Vai area of Ba Ria Vung Tau province, an area that has been designated as a deep-sea port under the Vietnamese government’s Detailed Master Plan to provide facilities to handle growing cargo traffic. The new terminal is expected to come on stream in 2011. It will have a quay length of 730 m, with a depth alongside of 14 m and a total yard area of 33 ha. It will be linked by a national highway to the Ho Chi Minh City hinterland, about 100 km away, and is also close to a major power plant.

John Meredith, group managing director of HPH, said: “HPH fully intends to participate in the country’s port development opportunities that have arisen following Vietnam’s accession to the WTO and the resulting demand for advanced container handling facilities.”