Increasing international interest in Vietnam’s port sector
The Japan
ese government, investors, contractors, and shipping lines are all looking to get involved in the Vietnamese ports and shipping sector, said the London-based Business Monitor International’s (BMI) Vietnam freight transport report for 2011’s third quarter, according to Vietnam News Briefs Service.
Japanese interest in Vietnam’s ports and shipping industry was surging, BMI noted, cited Kobe Steel as saying it will build its own US$244 million to $365 million port in Vietnam to secure iron nugget supplies.
Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) will deploy Europe-bound container vessels for the first time that will have a handling capacity of 6,500 TEUs. MOL will operate 10 such vessels through Vietnam on a weekly basis.
Besides, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) was to launch freight services between Southeast Asian countries in association with state-run Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines).
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) along with a Vietnamese logistics firm will establish a joint venture in Hanoi to operate an international freight forwarding business by sea and air. The venture was also considering establishing a branch in Ho Chi Minh City.
Meanwhile, Japan International Cooperation Agency was funding the bulk of the US$1.7 billion to Lach Huyen’s new port project in the northern city of Haiphong.
BMI believes that this project highlights the importance of foreign investment in Vietnam’s port infrastructure, due to its implications for the country’s growth.
The recent exploration of investment and cooperation opportunities by seven French shipbuilding industry firms, including Moteurs Baudouin, Masson Marine, Marinelec, and Barillec was followed by promising results.
In early April, the global power systems firm Rolls-Royce was trumpeting that it was to develop the largest ship-lift in Asia, in Haiphong. This project, expected to be completed in 2012, will comprise a platform 179m long, 35m wide with a maximum net lifting capacity in excess of 23,000 tonnes.
Vietnam’s port infrastructure remains poor by international standards.
The World Economic Forum’s 2010 Global Competitiveness Report gave it a score of 3.56, putting it just ahead of the regional underperformer, the Philippines, which scores 2.92, and is well behind regional leaders Singapore and Hong Kong.
“Increasing international interest in Vietnam’s port sector on the back of growing intra-Asia trade should help to close the gaps in infrastructure investment. Vietnam is becoming increasingly important, not just to growing Intra-Asian trade, but also on the global scale,” said the report.
Source: Cargonews Asia
