SP-ITC International Container Terminal opens in HCMC

First phase now able to handle goods and ease burden on Cat Lai Port.

The first phase of the $200 million SP-ITC International Container Terminal in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City, was officially opened on September 18.

Built by the International Transportation and Trading Joint Stock Company (ITC), the terminal covers 48 ha with a total length of 1,000 meters and capacity of 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Construction of the first phase, on an area of 20 ha, was completed in March, allowing the port to berth vessels of 230 meters in length with a tonnage of 35,000 DWT.

SP-ITC is continuing to complete the second phase.

This is the first private port in Vietnam and uses modern equipment from Germany, with cranes capable of lifting 40 tons. The cranes are powered by electricity instead of diesel, making them environmentally friendly and reducing power consumption by up to 30 per cent.

The terminal has a favorable position between the Dong Nai and Ong Nhieu Rivers, within easy access of the Long Thanh - Dau Giay Highway and Cai Mep Port, making it convenient for the import and export of goods for enterprises in the southern provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria Vung Tau and those in the Mekong Delta.

The SP-ITC is expected to be a gateway to the Southern Key Economic Zone and will ease the congestion at Cat Lai Port.

ITC was established in 2001 and operates in mining and shipping management and road and waterway freight transport. It owns and operates a fleet of nine large vessels and 150 trucks.

Cat Lai is the largest port in Vietnam and one of 34 largest in the world, handling more than 80 per cent of imported and exported goods in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam now has 49 seaports at three levels - I, II, and III. Total investment capital needed for the country’s seaport network to 2020 is estimated at VND100 trillion ($4.5 billion).

by Ngoc Chi / vneconomictimes.com