New port looks to nation’s future

UB.CA/Khanh Hoa - Khanh Hoa Province plans to develop a port in its Van Phong EZ. Senior consultant to the Viet Nam Maritime Department, Bui Kien Thanh, mulls over the move with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Do you think Vietnam has enough capital to build the international transit port in Van Phong?

Investment capital is not a problem. This is an international transit port which means the port serves not only Vietnamese ships but foreign ships as well.

I think that a lot of world-renowned shipping companies will be willing to invest in the construction of the port because of its geographical location.

In my opinion, the most important thing Vietnam has to do now is attract investors, as capital needed to build the port could reach US$20bil.

Van Phong is known as Vietnam’s Pearl Harbor.

Do you know any investors who have shown an interest so far?

I’ve presented my ideas to the authorities and stressed the need to have a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This is a pre-condition to get loans from big international financial institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Big investors need the EIA to borrow money for major projects.

As far as I know the EIA report is not yet available for the Van Phong plan.

There is a development plan for Van Phong, do you think it’s good enough?

The plan written up by the Ministry of Construction is just in its initial stages. It’s not detailed yet.

I have raised the issue of getting international consultants to work with Vietnamese counterparts in the planning process as Van Phong transit port is a big project.

You know, we hired foreign consultants to help plan a district in Ho Chi Minh City so why don’t we do it again for this important project?

What’s more, as well as building the port, other facilities will need to be built, including a big urban area as well as a commercial and financial centre.

Some people have argued that building a steel processing factory at the EZ would generate money and jobs quicker than building a port. What do you think?

This idea suggests we sacrifice a big thing (the environment) for a very small thing (money).

Whoever makes decisions on macro economic development must think about the long term effects for future generations. In other words, we have to put the interests of the nation before the interests of one particular group of people or one area of the economy.

What I’m talking about is the environmental impacts. If we look at the map, Van Phong is situated between Da Nang, in the upper part, and Ninh Thuan, in the lower part. Van Phong Bay has been described as the most beautiful bay in East Asia and the sea has rich biodiversity.

In building either a port or a steel factory, if a plan is approved, we have to protect the surrounding environment.

Vietnam needs between 50-70 years of development before it catches up with other countries and we are willing to do it. But to reach that target without sacrificing the environment is an issue we have to consider very carefully. Damage to the environment can take thousands of years to rectify. I don’t think that for the sake of a $5-10bil project we should make such a sacrifice!