Date:19/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/19/stories/2006061900170603.htm

Back Saigon container terminal

Our Bureau

The construction of one of Vietnam's important infrastructure projects, the $230-million Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT), has begun. The project is an 80:20 joint venture between P&O Ports, now under Dubai-based DP World, and Vietnam's state-owned Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company. Located on the western shore of the Soa Rap river, the terminal will be complete with 950-metre quay, 40 acres of adjacent land and four berths two of which will be commissioned in 2008.

When commissioned, the terminal will have the capacity to handle 1.5 million TEUs annually. Ho Chi Minh City, the business centre of Vietnam, is served by a number of port and terminals facilities along the Saigon river and these facilities have to be closed over the next 10-15 years. SPCT, located close to Ho Chi Minh City's industrial hinterland, will gradually take over the traffic being handled by these facilities. In 2005, box throughput grew 16 per cent.