Construction of Van Phong Transhipment Port suspended

Construction of a controversial transhipment port in Van Phong, Vietnam has been halted.

According to local media reports, the delay could be anywhere up to a year.

“Construction will resume pending a decision by the Prime Minister,” said Nguyen Ngoc Quy, Director of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) Management Board of Marine Projects No 1.

The $3.6 billion transhipment port project in the centre of Vietnam’s coastline had drawn criticism from industry experts who felt that the investment would be better suited to areas with a significant baseload of cargo.

The first phase of the port, reportedly designed to handle ships of up to 9,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in capacity was reported to be five months from completion.

“It has been extremely difficult to mobilise capital for a huge project such as the Van Phong Port, current interest rates being so high,” added Quy.

Tags: Van Phong Transhipment Port