Opening new development steps

(Baonghean) - On September 27, the project "Investment in upgrading the channel for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo Port" will officially be implemented with a total cost of over 375 billion VND. Cua Lo Port has been playing an important role in the socio-economic development of Nghe An province and the North Central region; therefore, the implementation of the above project is an important new development mark of the Port...

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and provincial leaders inspected the waterway and loading and unloading capacity of Cua Lo Port. Photo: Huu Nghia

Milestone event…

Since the 70s of the last century, in response to the need for an international seaport in the Central region, the Prime Minister issued Decision 120/TTg dated May 15, 1974, approving the design task of Cua Lo Port. After 5 years of construction (1979 - 1984), Cua Lo Port was formed and put into operation. This is a historical milestone of the transport sector and of Nghe An province as well as the region. From here, the exchange between Nghe An and localities across the country and with international friends has been expanded, creating many favorable conditions for socio-economic development.

In more than 30 years of official operation, Cua Lo Port has undergone many upgrades and expansions to promote its role as an important bridge in the economic development of the region and the Vietnamese Maritime industry. However, up to now, Cua Lo Port with a channel length of 4km, width of 80m, a system of 4 wharves with a total length of 650m, but only has a depth of -5.5m. Therefore, the channel only meets the needs of ships with a capacity of 5,000 ÷ 7,000 DWT, limited to ships with a capacity of approximately 10,000 DWT. Meanwhile, the demand for large cargo ships with a capacity of over 10,000 DWT entering and leaving Cua Lo Port is on the rise. According to Mr. Le Doan Long - Director of Nghe Tinh Port Company Limited, based on the design criteria of Cua Lo Port, the cargo throughput of the port is 1.4 million tons/year. However, in recent years, the cargo throughput of the port has been increasing. Specifically, in 2013, the cargo throughput of the port reached approximately 2.4 million tons, with total revenue of 120 billion VND; in the first 9 months of 2014, the cargo throughput has reached the same level as in 2013, and it is expected that the whole year of 2014 will reach about 3 million tons, with total revenue of about 130 billion VND. Therefore, investing in upgrading the channel for Cua Lo Port is extremely necessary...

Based on the above reality, the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Nghe An province and the Vietnam Maritime Administration have identified the investment in upgrading the channel for ships entering Cua Lo Port as a key objective of Nghe An in particular and the North Central region in general. With the participation of the province and the Vietnam Maritime Administration, on January 26, 2011, the Project "Investment in upgrading the channel for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo Port" was approved by the Ministry of Transport in Decision No. 178/QD-BGTVT. However, at this time, due to difficulties in arranging investment capital, the project has not been implemented as originally planned. Entering 2014, based on the demand for cargo transportation through Cua Lo Port, as well as the development potential, political, economic, social, defense and security significance of Nghe An, considering the proposal of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the Provincial People's Committee, the Ministry of Transport has approved and allowed the adjustment of the project and the Vietnam Maritime Administration has approved the total investment of 375,621,977,000 VND. In which, the investment phase of phase 1 is: Dredging the shipping channel to -7.2m and investing in a synchronous buoy signaling system (in which, the width of the channel at the dredged bottom is 100m; the depth of the ship is 9.3m; the water level is +2.5m; the elevation of the dredged bottom is -7.2m; and the installation of 2 new buoy signaling sets). The total investment cost of phase 1 is 179,343,267,000 VND; Phase 2 is: Construction of the 250m long South dike with a total cost of 196,278,709,000 VND.

...And common joy

Cua Lo Port's production pace seems to be more bustling and vibrant these days. On the faces of port officials, employees, and loading and unloading workers... the excitement and enthusiasm are evident. While busy preparing for the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Tran Van Dat, Director of Cua Lo Port happily said: The new project has fulfilled the long-standing wish of generations of Cua Lo Port officials and employees. The largest dredging project ever at the port was carried out more than 15 years ago. Since then, Cua Lo Port, although it wanted to, due to limited funding, has only invested about 20 billion VND/year to carry out small dredging sessions. Therefore, the port's waterway has been silted up, while the demand for loading and unloading goods and the need for large ships to enter and exit is increasing, so large-scale dredging is extremely urgent. “In the integration period, the demand of customers, cargo owners and ship owners for Cua Lo Port is very large. This Cua Lo port channel upgrade project will help large ships of 10,000 tons enter and exit the port easily. Thereby, reducing transportation costs, improving business efficiency for ship owners and cargo owners, and increasing the volume of cargo loaded and unloaded at the port. As a direct beneficiary of the project, we hope that the construction unit will carry out the project items on schedule, ensuring safety and bringing high efficiency” – Mr. Dat said.

Many officers and employees of Cua Lo Port also expressed their feelings. Mr. Pham Van Phuong (a wharf team member) believes that when the project is completed, the number of ships as well as the source of goods entering and leaving the port will certainly increase, thereby creating many stable jobs, contributing to increasing income for himself and his colleagues working here. Mr. Phuong confided: “As workers working day and night at Cua Lo Port, we understand very well the damage when the shipping channel is not deep enough as designed. Whether large ships can enter and exit the port or not directly affects the amount of work of each worker here. Especially in the context of the deep-water ports of Vung Ang and Nghi Son are making efforts to attract goods, dredging and clearing the shipping channel is of vital importance to the workers here. Hearing the news of the dredging project, we feel very happy and confident in the new success of the port...”.

Representative of the investor (Vietnam Maritime Administration), Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Deputy Manager of Maritime Project III said that after a period of urgent implementation of procedures, Vietnam Maritime Administration has approved the results of selecting a contractor to construct package No. 8 "Construction of dredging of shipping channels and signal buoys" under the project "Investment in upgrading channels for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo port". According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, "The construction progress of the package is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015. At that time, Cua Lo Port will meet the needs of upgrading channels for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships to enter and exit safely and conveniently, contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of Nghe An province and the surrounding area (the attractive area of ​​Cua Lo Port)...".

As a person with a lot of enthusiasm for the investment calling process, Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky - Director of the Department of Transport assessed that the Project "Investing in upgrading the channel for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo Port" is an important project, which will open up the lifeline, paving the way for new developments in the province's transport industry. According to Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky, when the channel of Cua Lo Port is dredged to a depth of -7.2m, not only 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships can enter and exit conveniently, but large ships of 20,000 to 30,000 tons can also enter and exit. This will create extremely favorable conditions for domestic and foreign enterprises to import and export goods, which also means that Nghe An's strategic export items such as white stone, wood chips, etc. will have a favorable "output". Along with that, the cargo handling capacity of Cua Lo Port will certainly be increased, contributing to reducing the load on roads and Nghe An will improve the efficiency of railway lines... "After key projects such as the renovation and expansion of National Highway 1A, railway overpasses, Vinh Airport... the project "Investment in upgrading the channel for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo Port" is a project of important strategic significance in the goal of developing Nghe An's transport infrastructure. The completion of the project will strongly promote the socio-economic development of the province, contributing significantly to the task of successfully implementing Resolution 26 of the Politburo..." - Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky shared.

Lan - Khoa