The story of the deep-water port.

(Baonghean)Nghe An is the economic and cultural center of North Central Vietnam; therefore, the issue of a "deep-water port" remains a constant concern for provincial leaders and various departments. However, the province's seaport has not adequately met development needs, resulting in numerous investors visiting and assessing the port's transport capacity at Cua Lo, only to leave because large ships over 10,000 tons cannot dock. Many meetings on attracting investment have raised the issue of a deep-water port, but all have failed. One department director frankly stated: without a deep-water port, it's not advisable to attract large factories.

At the 2014 investor meeting in our province, the topic of ports was brought up again. Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Nguyen Van Binh, stated: “At least in the central provinces, a railway network is needed to facilitate freight transport. It's not necessary for every province to invest in deep-water ports. Some provinces already have key deep-water ports, and other provinces can connect to those ports by rail. It doesn't need to be a modern 300 km/h railway; a two-lane railway with a speed of 150 km/h would suffice. The frequency of service on these railways should follow international standards. This way, the connections between provinces will complement each other, maximizing the strengths of each province and region.”

That's just one suggestion. We believe Nghe An still needs a deep-water port. It doesn't necessarily have to be a brand-new port; we can develop the existing one, Cua Lo port. Three years ago, the Cua Lo deep-water port project was launched with great fanfare, but then it gradually faded into oblivion because the investor didn't proceed. Therefore, based on the port's traditional customer base and existing infrastructure, we need to mobilize capital to dredge Cua Lo port to the necessary depth for ships over 10,000 tons to dock. Investing in seaports is a high-risk investment because large sums of money are literally "thrown into the river or sea." Therefore, we need to diversify investment sources, with the state playing a crucial role. Besides the efforts of investors, all levels of government also need to get involved to ensure the investment is effective and serves multiple purposes.

Chau Lan