Groundbreaking ceremony of dredging channel and buoy of Cua Lo Port

(Baonghean.vn)- On September 27, the Vietnam Maritime Administration held a groundbreaking ceremony for the dredging and buoy signaling package of the project "Upgrading the channel for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo port".

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were comrades: Nguyen Van Cong, Deputy Minister of Transport, Nguyen Nhat, Director of the Maritime Administration, leaders of agencies under the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Planning and Investment. On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Le Quang Huy - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Huynh Thanh Dien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Delegates attending the project groundbreaking ceremony

Cua Lo Port plays an important role in the economic development of Nghe An as well as the provinces in the North Central region, being the gateway to the East Sea of ​​Laos and the Northeast of Thailand, connecting the East-West economic corridor. The volume of goods passing through the port is increasingly increasing. In 2013, the volume of goods passing through the port reached approximately 2.4 million tons, with total revenue of 120 billion VND. In the first 9 months of 2014, the volume of goods has reached the same level as in 2013, expected to reach about 3 million tons with total revenue of about 130 billion VND.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong spoke.

Currently, the Cua Lo port channel is limiting large-capacity ships. The channel depth is -5.5m, only meeting the needs of ships with a capacity of 5,000 ÷ 7,000 DWT, limited to ships with a capacity of approximately 10,000 DWT. Therefore, investing in upgrading the channel for Cua Lo Port is extremely necessary.

Comrade Huynh Thanh Dien spoke.

With the participation of the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Nghe An province and the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the project "Investment in upgrading the channel for 10,000 DWT fully loaded ships entering Cua Lo Port" has been approved by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The project has a total investment of 375,621,977,000 VND. In which, the investment phase 1 is: Dredging the channel to -7.2m and investing in a synchronous buoy signaling system (in which, the channel width at the dredged bottom: 100m; ship running depth: 9.3m; ship running water level: +2.5m; dredged bottom elevation: -7.2m; additional installation of 02 new sets of buoy signaling). The total investment cost of phase 1 is 179,343,267,000 VND; Phase 2 builds a 250m long southern dike with a total cost of VND 196,278,709,000.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Huynh Thanh Dien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee thanked the attention of the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Maritime Administration, Ministry of Planning and Investment as well as relevant agencies for the project's approval and implementation. The project not only plays an important role in the development of Cua Lo port but also has strategic significance for the economic and social development of Nghe An province. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee hopes that the investor, contractor and relevant units will make efforts to ensure the project is implemented on schedule and safely. He assigned Cua Lo town and Nghi Loc district to create favorable conditions for the project to be implemented, paying special attention to clearing fish cages in the shipping channel area as well as handling the situation of fishing boats anchoring illegally in the port area. Nghe An also hopes that the Ministry of Transport will soon start the second phase of the project.

Delegates pressed the button to start the project.

Emphasizing the importance of Cua Lo Port as well as dredging the channel to the necessary depth, Comrade Nguyen Van Cong, Deputy Minister of Transport, affirmed that for a long time, the lack of depth of the channel has limited the development of Nghe An and the region. When the project is completed, it will certainly create a strong shift, attracting many sources of goods. After the project is completed, with a depth of - 7.2 m, a channel width of 100 m, Cua Lo Port will have a channel equivalent to Hai Phong Port. At that time, not only can ships with a capacity of 10,000 DWT enter and exit easily, but the port will also be able to receive ships of up to 50,000 DWT. The Deputy Minister requested that Cua Lo Port must increase the exploitation of available resources, promoting the maximum value of the project.

Immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony, the construction unit officially started dredging the shipping channel at Cua Lo port.

The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015.

Nhat Lan - Nguyen Khoa