Vietnamese province calls for more investment in seaport services

Quang Ninh, October 24 (VNA) - Authorities in Vietnam's northern coastal province of Quang Ninh will create favourable conditions for investors to develop the maritime economy, especially port services, a local official said. At a conference on the promotion of investment in seaport services held in Cai Lan port, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thanh said the authorities would simplify administrative procedures further. Under the seaport development plan of the Government, the province will become a modern industrial and service-oriented locality that can meet the northern region’s increasing demand for shipping and transport services. Accordingly, Cai Lan Port is to be developed into one of the main ports in the provincial seaport system. A comprehensive maritime infrastructure system will be constructed in Cai Lan Port, including modern facilities and equipment, so the port can load and unload vessels effectively and store cargo locally. Once completed, the port will be able to process vessels of up to 50,000 DWT and containers of up to 4,000 TEU, while handling 11 million tonnes of goods per year by 2015 and 14-16 million tonnes of goods by 2020. At present, seaports in Quang Ninh process over 7,000 ships; hande 50 million tonnes of goods; and welcome around 100,000 passengers. The province has attracted a number of domestic and foreign investors to implement seaport projects in the locality. In the near future, the Hai Ha multi-purpose seaport will be constructed, which will enable 30,000-80,000 DWT vessels to traverse the province’s waters, providing crucial cargo transport services for the province and region’s industrial parks. In addition, Hon Gai wharf will be upgraded to an international tourism port. Cam Pha, Van Gia, Mui Chua, Van Hoa, Van Don and Yen Hung ports will also be expanded. Participants in the conference said logistics firms operating in Cai Lan Port needed to cooperate with businesses in the fields of export, insurance and finance to make their operations more effective and improve their competitiveness.-VNA