Cua Lo Deep Water Port Project in Nghi Thiet Commune, Nghi Loc District will have 3 wharves.

The Cua Lo Deep Water Port construction and business investment project is invested by the International Transport Development Investment Joint Stock Company in Nghi Thiet commune (Nghi Loc).

The project is funded and invested by the North Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank. The International Transport Development Investment Joint Stock Company hired the design consulting organization Japan Port Consultant Ltd to preside over the survey, research and preparation of planning and design documents, with the participation and cooperation of other consulting organizations (Royal Haskoning Vietnam of the Netherlands, Dohwa Engineering of Korea, ESG Vietnam).

The investor held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 7, 2010, with the construction scale including: 1 berth for 30,000DWT ships, 252m long; 1 berth for 50,000DWT ships, 285m long...

Capacity of 4-5 million tons of goods per year. Land area is 20 hectares. Total investment capital is 3,300 billion VND. However, due to many objective difficulties, the project has been stalled for many years.

Since the beginning of 2021, the investor has restarted the project, including the implementation of a detailed construction plan at a scale of 1/500 for the administrative area and warehouse (port rear phase 1).

In Notice No. 830-TB/TU dated February 28, 2023, the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee approved the adjustment of the investment project to build and operate Cua Lo deep-water port in Nghi Thiet commune, Nghi Loc district, submitted by the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee.

Accordingly, compared to the 2010 period, the project has been updated with additional sea surface use area according to the provisions of the Vietnam Sea Law and Decree No. 11/2021/ND-CP dated February 10, 2021 of the Government. The land area used for the port rear area is 20 hectares. The sea surface area used for the offshore deep-water port area is 200 hectares.

Project scale: The port area includes 1 berth for 30,000 DWT ships and 1 berth for 50,000 DWT ships. Other maritime infrastructure items include: 1,470m long breakwater, shipping channel and maritime safety signaling equipment.

The 20-hectare port rear area will be synchronously constructed with technical infrastructure works and factories in accordance with the detailed construction plan approved by the Provincial People's Committee. The total registered investment capital is 3,896 billion VND, an increase of 596 billion VND compared to before.

Recently, the Working Group established under Decision No. 580/QD-UBND said: On May 22, 2023, International Transport Development Investment Joint Stock Company proposed to change the project expansion adjustment plan, increasing 1 wharf compared to the current scale of 2 wharfs and is implementing the survey task and estimate to establish the zoning plan for the construction of the Cua Lo Deep-water Port Industrial, Urban and Logistics Park after receiving the policy of the Provincial People's Committee in Official Dispatch No. 2428/UBND-CN dated April 6, 2023.

Nghe An province has sent a document requesting the Ministry of Transport to update the detailed planning of the seaport group according to the investor's proposal (Official Dispatch No. 1046/KKT-QHXD dated June 26, 2023). Currently, the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board is coordinating with the investor to prepare a dossier to submit to the competent authority.

Along with the expansion and upgrading of Vinh International Airport, the Cua Lo Deep Water Port Project is one of two projects that Nghe An is urgently preparing necessary procedures for to be able to start construction, in order to remove key infrastructure bottlenecks, creating a foundation to promote socio-economic development.

Thanh Duy