Deep water ports magnet for Japanese investment

News - Japanese investors are interested in investment cooperation in building and operating deep water ports in Vietnam, said Japanese Deputy Minister of Land-Infrastructure-Transport and Tourism Fujita Takehino.

A number of Japanese firms plan to take part in bidding for supplying equipment and operating ports after projects are operational, Deputy Minister Fujita Takehino told Deputy Minister of Transport Ngo Thinh Duc during their working session in Hanoi on March 9.

Apart from the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port project in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau which has been carried out with Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) resource, three major Japanese firms – Itochu, NYK and Mitsubishi – are conducting surveys to provide capital for construction of infrastructure and systems to operate Lach Huyen port in the northern city of Hai Phong.

According to Deputy Minister Duc, the Lach Huyen port project will be invested under the form of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The first phase will entail to construction of a 700m-long wharf, capable of simultaneously receiving two 100,000-tonne ships and a logistic system.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) agreed to fund the construction of a road and a bridge linking Lach Huyen port to the Hanoi-Hai Phong highway.

The JICA also agreed to provide additional capital to increase the receiving capacity of the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port for 100,000 tonne ships from it’s current limit of 65,000-80,000 tonne ships.