Relocation of city ports delayed

The removal of ports from the inner areas of HCM City to outlying districts has been stalled due to the delay in infrastructure construction at the proposed destinations as well as a lack of funds, port management officials say.

The city was to move four ports – Sai Gon, Sai Gon New, Vegetable Terminal and Tan Thuan Dong, as well as the Ba Son Shipyard by the end of this year in the initial phase of a plan to remove the port system out of inner HCM City.

But only one of them, the Sai Gon New Port, is about to complete its move from Binh Thanh District to Cat Lai.

According to Sai Gon Port Authority, the removal of other ports would be delayed by at least two years because the construction of wharves in the proposed destination in Nha Be District’s Hiep Phuoc Port has not been completed.

The first 200m wharf for the Sai Gon Port will be put into use in September and another 600m wharf in 2012; while other proposed wharves with a total length of 1000m have not even completed the site clearance process.

Relocation of the Tan Thuan Dong Port in District 7 will take even longer, about 3-4 years, as its management needs to mobilize much more capital to afford the high cost of leasing land in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park.

The city has not allocated land for moving the Vegetable Terminal Port and its management has not prepared any plan for it.

The relocation of Ba Son Shipyard is awaiting capital from the new investors to meet real estate costs for transferring the land. Shipyard authorities said they were also waiting for approval from the HCM City People’s Committee of plans submitted for new developments in the vacated area.

In July, the Government had issued a decision allowing the use of capital gained from selling land lots on the current location of the ports and the shipyard for the purpose of moving these facilities.

The ports and shipyards will also receive 30 per cent of their average annual after-tax income of the last three years to compensate for their loss of income during the relocation process.

A complex of financial offices and luxurious hotels will be developed on the site of the Ba Son Shipyard while historical buildings including the Ton Duc Thang memorial house will be retained.

The Nha Rong and Khanh Hoi wharves as well as the Sai Gon Port will become tourist ports connecting waterways with bus, taxi and metro terminals. — VNS

Tags: Sai Gon port, Sai Gon New port, Tan Thuan Dong port, Vegetable Terminal port