PROPOSAL ON INTERNATIONAL SEAPORT IN SOC TRANG TO BE SUBMITTED TO PM

At the end of the year, the government of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang will submit to the prime minister a proposal to upgrade the Tran De deep-water seaport in the province into an international port (IA grade), according to Soc Trang Vice Chairman Le Thanh Tri.

At a mid-term conference in Can Tho City last weekend on the execution of the plan for socioeconomic development and medium-term public investment for the 2016-2020 period in the Mekong Delta and southeast regions, Tri said that the project proposal had been sent to the Ministry of Transport. The seaport is expected to serve as an international gateway or transit point, contributing to the country’s socioeconomic development.

The Soc Trang government has worked with the Vietnam Maritime Administration on the project and will consult the relevant ministries and agencies in November or December, Tri said, adding that he looked forward to the support of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Ministry of Transport had earlier agreed in writing to the submission of the proposal of the Soc Trang Government for the PM’s approval.

The seaport is expected to accommodate ships weighing from 50,000 DWT to more than 100,000 DWT, serving the Mekong Delta’s direct imports and exports.

At a meeting between the provincial government and Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The in March, Soc Trang Chairman Tran Van Chuyen stressed that several investors, including International Local Development Consortium (ILDC) from France, had expressed keen interest in the project.

ILDC had proposed investing some VND136.5 trillion (US$5.9 billion) in the Mekong ILDC deep-water seaport complex, consisting of a seaport, a service area and an urban and industrial area, covering 6,000 hectares.

Under the prime minister’s Decision 1037/QD-TTg on developing the national seaport system by 2020 with a vision to 2030, the two IA seaports are in Haiphong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The seaports that have the potential to become IA ports are in Danang City and Khanh Hoa Province.

Source: The Saigon Times