The project "Upgrading the navigation channel from the Hai Phong International Container Port turning basin to Nam Dinh Vu Port" has just officially been started by Gemadept JSC at Nam Dinh Vu Port, Hai Phong.

Open maritime channels to welcome large vessels

With a favorable geographical location and hundreds of years of development history, the seaport system in Hai Phong plays a pivotal role in connecting trade in the Northern region and the whole country, serving millions of Teus/ton of goods throughout each year.

At the project groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu, Director of Hai Phong Maritime Port Authority, said that currently, the output of goods through the Dinh Vu area accounts for a large part of the total output through the Hai Phong port system. However, with the trend of increasing ship sizes, one of the "bottlenecks" of maritime activities in this area is that the navigation channel is still narrow and shallow. In particular, the current section of Ha Nam Canal is -7m deep and there are times when it is silted up, forcing ships with a draft of -8.5m or more to have to anchor and wait for the tide and reduce cargo loading, directly affecting the operational efficiency of shipping lines as well as import-export enterprises. With a depth of -7m, ships with a tonnage of over 25,000 DWT encounter certain difficulties when passing through the channel. Therefore, there is an urgent need to upgrade the maritime channel in Hai Phong (Ha Nam canal section), allowing large ships to enter and exit the ports, contributing to increasing goods output and significantly reducing logistics costs.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu affirmed that the project to upgrade the maritime channel (section from Vung Quay of Hai Phong International Container Port to Nam Dinh Vu Port) is truly a breakthrough in the exploitation of Hai Phong seaport area. The determination of Gemadept Group, it has helped the city remove the biggest bottleneck in the exploitation of goods and ships entering the port. Gemadept is one of the large corporations operating the prestigious Hai Phong seaport area, hopefully, with businesses daring to spend their budgets to invest in maritime infrastructure, ship cargo activities will also have breakthrough growth soon.

Mr. Tran Viet Manh, Director of Nam Dinh Vu Port (belonging to Gemadept Joint Stock Company) shared, is a pioneering enterprise owning and exploiting the Port and Logistics ecosystem from North to South, Gemadept is deeply aware of the role and responsibility of businesses, so it decided to accompany the Ministry of Transport and the Maritime Administration in the socialization and development of maritime channel infrastructure in Hai Phong. Gemadept has researched and proposed the project to upgrade navigation channels to the Ministry of Transport. The project aims to lower the channel depth from -7m to -8.5m to accommodate ships up to 48,000 DWT with full load. The project has been approved by the Ministry of Transport, issuing a document agreeing on the policy of upgrading the Hai Phong channel from the turning basin of Hai Phong international container port to the Nam Dinh Vu port area.

Motivation to change the appearance of regional port clusters

The project "Upgrading the navigation channel from the Hai Phong International Container Port turning basin to Nam Dinh Vu port" is part of the socio-economic development planning of Hai Phong City, not only the northern key economic region as well as the strategy for developing group 1 seaport system and the strategy for developing Vietnam's seaport system, but also an important step in upgrading Vietnam's seaport system and contributing to the process of realizing vision 2050 of Hai Phong Port City.

Mr. Tran Viet Manh, Director of Nam Dinh Vu Port (belonging to Gemadept Joint Stock Company) said that after completion, the upgraded fairway will reach a depth of -8.5m, the length of the planned upgraded fairway section is about 10.5 km, Nam Dinh Vu port can receive ships of up to 48,000 DWT with a draft of up to -8.5m. The project will start construction on January 31, 2024, expected to be implemented with an urgent schedule within 3 months to be put into operation as soon as May 2024.

Since the opening of phase 2 in May 2023, Nam Dinh Vu Port with doubled capacity, wharves, and yards, has been built and invested synchronously in infrastructure, equipment, and technology according to international standards. Nam Dinh Vu 1 and 2 can receive 4-5 feeder trains at the same time. Upgrading the port access channel will continue to improve Nam Dinh Vu's capacity in the coming time, especially when phase 3 of the port will soon be deployed and continue to be put into operation from 2025.

At the same time, the maritime channel upgrading project also significantly contributes to improving service quality, increasing competitiveness and operational efficiency, and creating motivation to change the appearance of the entire key port system in the North.

Enhance value and promote economic growth

This is one of the industry's pioneering projects in coordinating and promoting resources between the State and society to invest in upgrading public navigation channels in the Hai Phong area.

With infrastructure investment from socialized capital, promoting and attracting investment into Hai Phong city and the Northern key economic region, the project opens up opportunities to further develop the country's transportation system and seaports, meeting the rhythm of economic growth. It will bring abundant revenue to the State budget from tax revenues and growth activities of ports, based on positive contributions from Ha Nam Canal.

in addition, the project also brings many other values ​​from promoting production and import-export of products, thereby increasing the import-export turnover of Hai Phong city, the entire North, and the whole country. Reasonable use and optimal promotion of land and water resources, contributing to high efficiency for the economy, representative of Nam Dinh Vu Port affirmed.

With the benefits brought to all parties, the project has received positive guidance, support, and facilitation from the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Maritime Administration in the process of research and preparation for construction, demonstrating the vision of the agencies and departments in the development of the maritime industry and marine economy of Hai Phong city.

Mr. Pham Quoc Long, Vice President of the Vietnam Shipowners Association, also affirmed that the Hai Phong maritime channel is very important to the entire economy of the northern region and Vietnam. The implementation of Gemadept's project is good news for the Vietnam Shipowners Association. The implementation of this project will help reduce shipping costs from 20% to 30%. A successful project will attract many large ships to the port, supporting many import-export businesses. "By the way, we also propose that the Ministry of Transport soon implement the project to expand the Ha Nam canal so that ships can circulate in both directions," Mr. Long proposed.

Source: https://diendandoanhnghiep.vn/khoi-cong-du-an-khoi-thong-luong-hang-hai-cho-tau-lon-258644.html