Seaport - spearhead in the development of Nghe An's marine economy

(Baonghean) -With 82 km of coastline and 6 estuaries, Nghe An has a strategic position in terms of economy and national security. This place has the potential for seaport development, which is attracting the Government's attention and is at the top of the list of investment projects in Vietnam's marine strategy.

Nghe An sea area is located at the center of international and inter-regional exchange routes, on the North-South and East-West axis of the Central region, on the corridor of the international maritime route, and is one of the sea gateways of the North Central region, Central Laos and Northeastern Thailand. Nghe An is a region with great potential, rich in construction industrial materials and agricultural products. These are the strengths for Nghe An seaports to have investment opportunities and develop day by day.

Currently, Nghe An has 7 seaports, of which Cua Lo Port is a large commercial port, managed by the central government, and the remaining 6 ports are managed by localities (that is, Ben Thuy general loading and unloading port, 2 petroleum ports in Hung Hoa and 3 fishing ports Cua Hoi, Lach Quen, Lach Van.)

After many upgrades, expansions, and opening of international container routes, Cua Lo Port now has a capacity of 1.4 million tons/year, a total area of ​​32 hectares, with 4 wharves with a total length of 780m. Currently, the Port has invested in many modern and synchronous loading and unloading equipment, including pedestal cranes with a lifting capacity of 130 tons to be able to load and unload super-sized and super-heavy cargo. The Port can simultaneously receive 4 ships with a tonnage of 10,000 tons each. The daily loading and unloading capacity has reached 8,000 tons of cargo. The amount of cargo passing through the Port each year is 1.5 million tons. If investment is made to develop the North and South embankments and dredging is carried out, ships over 10,000 tons can enter and exit these areas easily. At that time, Cua Lo Port will fully meet the import and export needs of goods for the whole region and Laos and Thailand.

Ben Thuy Port is planning to relocate to Hung Hoa - the lower Lam River. This is a local specialized port, with a capacity of 250 thousand tons, with 4 berths, a total length of 236m. The berths are 3.5-4m deep, and can accommodate ships of 1,000-1,500 tons. However, Ben Thuy Port's cargo is unstable, so it would be more suitable if it were developed in the direction of serving tourism.

Nghe An's fishing ports are a solid foundation for the fishing industry as they are the place to land, anchor ships, and concentrate processing facilities and fishing logistics services. Cua Hoi Port is planning to invest in becoming a fishing port for the North Central region, ensuring that fishing vessels up to 800 CV can dock. This area is currently very vibrant in terms of fishing services and processing.

Currently, Nghe Tinh port and VOSA Ben Thuy (shipping agent, providing maritime brokerage services) have basically met the maritime services through Nghe An seaport. In addition, there are more than 10 other units registered to operate in the maritime sector. However, the capacity of the enterprises is still small, the transport vessels are few, and there is a lack of experience.

To develop the seaport economy, not only do the seaports themselves invest in increasing capacity, taking care of and providing after-sales services to customers, providing convenient services, releasing ships quickly, and ensuring credibility, but key economic sectors such as industry and agriculture also need to invest in development, creating a stable source of goods circulating through the port. Along with attracting large enterprises to be the locomotives in the Southeast economic zone, developing key industries such as cement, stone powder, bricks, etc., agricultural and seafood products and processed foods must also develop strongly. Currently, two breweries, Hanoi and Saigon Song Lam, have stable production, and two large-scale milk factories have goods passing through the port. However, the source of goods within the province is not stable through the port. There are times when the port is "out of season" and the port waits for goods.

According to the plan until 2020: Cua Lo Port will be dredged, upgraded and expanded with 2 more wharves, increasing the total length of the wharf to 1000m. Develop more sand protection embankment in the North (extended), change the location of sand protection embankment in the South, build new wharves No. 5 and No. 6 to increase the port capacity. The port will also dredge the channel into the port to a depth of (-7.5m) to ensure that ships over 30,000 tons can dock. Expand the port area to 40 hectares, and at the same time build a tourist wharf in Cua Lo to serve sea tourists.

Dong Hoi Port (Quynh Lap - Quynh Luu) has been added to the construction planning since 2009, the purpose is to serve the 24MW Dong Hoi thermal power plant, Hoang Mai industrial park, Hoang Mai cement factory, the purpose of construction is to become a general port, ensuring 30,000-ton ships to dock. The fishing ports of Lach Quen, Lach Thoi, Lach Van have been and are being upgraded to serve the stable maritime industry.

Thus, if we successfully attract seaport projects and port-related projects according to the plan, the seaport economy will contribute significantly to a continuous chain from production to circulation and consumption, contributing to local GDP growth and the success of the marine economic strategy.

Chau Lan