HANOI: Alphaliner’s latest top 30 container ports list shows Vietnamese ports experienced the strongest growth in 2014. Volumes handled at Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and its deep water gateway of Cai Mep rose 16.7 percent to reach 6.39 Mteu. The North Vietnamese port of Hai Phong also recorded a 14.3 percent growth rate to reach 3.45 Mteu.
By comparison, the top 30 container ports in the world handled a combined volume of 370. Mteu in 2014, giving an annual increase of 5.3 percent. Throughput growth improved from 2013, when the same ports reported total volumes of 351 Mteu.
Vietnam’s impressive growth is set to continue in 2015, says Alphaliner, with HCMC terminals recording a 12.6 percent increase in volumes handled in the first quarter of this year. HCMC has attracted 11 new intra-Asia services since January, resulting at berth congestion at the main Cat Lai terminal in HCMC.
HCMC is developing its first special economic zone in the south of the city designed with a maritime focus. Under a $470 billion master plan to develop HCMC, approved by the nation’s Prime Minister, the city will be developed in all four directions but with a focus on the south and east where busy seaport and logistics activities are concentrated.
HCMC has 38 terminals, and local media reports that the city generated over $705 million last year, a rise of 15.3 percent over the previous year. Growth has been facilitated by infrastructure projects such as the Soai Rap dredging project which enables faster navigation and the ability to handle larger ships.
The region’s seaports are expected to handle up to 200 million tons of cargo in 2015, 305 million tons in 2020, and 650 million tons in 2030. Vietnam recorded a trade surplus for the first time in 2015, as exports outstripped imports by $150 million in April, according to the General Department of Customs.
