Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, General Director of Portcoast, reported to the Minister of Transport and the delegation that the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province is currently well masterplanned. Within this planning, the Cai Mep wharf area is designated as an international transshipment gateway, while the Thi Vai wharf area is aimed at supporting the socio-economic development across various regions.
On the afternoon of November 18, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang led a delegation to inspect and work in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port area (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province).
Good planning helps Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster increase cargo output Reporting to the Minister and the working delegation, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, General Director of Port - Marine Engineering Design Consulting Joint Stock Company (Portcoast) said that currently, Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster (Ba Ria - Thi Vai province) Vung Tau) is clearly planned, in which Cai Mep wharf area is the international transit gateway; Thi Vai wharf area serves inter-regional socio-economic development. In addition, in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, there are also wharf areas: Sao Mai - Ben Dinh wharf area serving oil and gas services and local socio-economic development; Vung Tau international passenger port serving tourism; Long Son wharf area serves the province's socio-economic development, petrochemical refining, metallurgy and energy industry; Dinh River wharf area serves local socio-economic development; Con Dao port is the focal point for exchange with the mainland and socio-economic development of the island district.
Offshore oil terminals serve offshore oil and gas fields; Buoy wharves, anchorage areas for transshipment, shelter and shelter from storms.
Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang spoke at the working session
Summarizing the current situation, Ba Ria - Vung Tau has a total of 54 wharves, total wharf length is 22.9km, total wharf area is 1,217ha, the largest ship size entering and exiting is a container ship of 232,494 DWT (24,188 TEU). In the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area alone, there are 24/35 operating wharves. Including 5 container terminals, 7 general terminals, 3 specialized steel terminals, 3 specialized bulk cargo terminals, 5 specialized liquid/gas terminals, 1 shipbuilding terminal. Meanwhile, the Cai Mep - Thi Vai channel is 50.5km long. Currently dredging this channel to reach the -15.5m standard to Cai Mep - CMIT International Port (CMIT-TCCT section: -14m; TCCT – SITV section: -12m; SITV – Phuoc An section: -11.6m ).
Gradually renovate and upgrade to receive ships of up to 200,000 tons and container ships of 18,000 TEU into the Cai Mep area; Ships of up to 100,000 tons, container ships of 8,000 TEU to Phu My (Thi Vai); Ships of up to 60,000 tons enter the Phuoc An and My Xuan areas and ships of up to 30,000 tons enter the My Xuan area (Phuoc An bridge trade).
Dinh River channel: channel length is 16.6km, maintaining stable operating conditions for ships up to 10,000 tons. Rang River branch channel: channel length is 6.54km, channel width is 150m, for ships up to 20,000 DWT one-way navigation. Ben Dam - Con Dao navigation channel, the length of the channel is 3.4km, the channel is 200m wide, the channel reaches a depth of 7.7m. The Con Son - Con Dao navigation channel has a length of 14km, a width of 200m, and a natural bottom elevation.
To date, Cai Mep International Port is ranked 11th CPPI (average of all 5 ship sizes), and 13th (weighted for common ship sizes at the port).
Also according to Portcoast representative, recently, the number of large container ships of over 80,000 DWT arriving at CMTV has continuously increased. There are currently 34 international container shipping routes (11 routes within Asia; 3 routes to Europe; 20 routes to America) into Vung Tau seaport.
In the period 2014 - 2022, the amount of liquid cargo through the port cluster decreased by 3.68%, while dry cargo increased by 12.50%, and container cargo increased by 23.96%. Total sales volume grew by 13.01%. The total volume of goods through the seaport in Ba Ria - Vung Tau in 2020 reached 113.23 million tons (including 7.55 million Teu); In 2022, it will be 106.70 million tons (8.34 million Teu)...
Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, General Director of Portcoast reported on the master plan of Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster
Adding inland waterway wharves to complete the network and reduce pressure on roads
Mr. Le Do Muoi, Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, said that currently, the biggest difficulty that seaports in Ba Ria - Vung Tau are facing is that this province imposes dredging fees like mineral fees. Ports have repeatedly proposed to the province not to collect dredging fees for dredging and maintaining port areas.
There is a bend on the fairway route to Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster, which needs to be improved to increase the capacity of the fairway. Meanwhile, capital for maintenance and dredging is limited, places to dump dredged material and liquidation face many difficulties...
Sharing the same opinion, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang said that currently, there are two methods of dumping waste: dumping at sea and dumping on shore to make use of leveling.
With the second method, up to now, there have been units that have applied the technology of mixing additives to make leveling materials, but the price is a bit high. The Ministry is directing the Vietnam Maritime Administration to continue to coordinate research and reduce costs.
Regarding the planning of Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster, the current planning is the successor to the previous planning (for ships up to 80,000 tons to enter and exit the port cluster).
Recently, under the direction of the Ministry of Transport, taking advantage of existing infrastructure, 205,000 ton ships have entered and exited Cai Mep - Thi Vai to handle cargo. Regarding scale, the port cluster is planned until 2030, with a vision to 2050, but according to the current planning, the vision is further than 2050...", the Deputy Minister said.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang and Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang took advantage of the exchange on the ship to inspect
Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that currently, the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area accounts for 45 - 50% of import and export goods and up to 70% of the country's total container volume.
The planning presented by the consultant is very good and thorough, with inheritance, development, and new points... The planning has met the situation of larger ships entering and leaving the port complex to handle cargo. "Comb-shaped" planning helps save length and have larger wharves. The planning digitalization consulting unit is very impressive. This can look up data, serve research, and carry out the construction of wharves accurately and quickly.
"We have an advantage in developing seaports. Maximizing the potential and advantages is what we always have to urge...", the Minister pondered.
According to the Minister, recently many port businesses complained that the fees were too cheap, which did not come from any laws or regulations. The circular only stipulates the minimum fee, but businesses compete, leading to a situation where no one dares to raise prices. This comes from the division of ports and lack of unity. New ports should only be assigned to one focal point for synchronous development.
The Minister also noted that it is necessary to review and supplement inland wharves and limit bringing goods ashore due to the severe road overload situation.
Currently, the Ministry is dredging inland waterways to make the most of water transport. If demand is low, raise it because the cost is cheap and the effect is great. In the long term, we will build an inter-regional railway connection...
