The US$360 million Saigon Premier Container Terminal, the most advanced of its kind in Ho Chi Minh City, was inaugurated on January 30 along with the phase-2 opening of the city’s North-South road axis.
Located along the western shore of the Soai Rap River on 23 hectares in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park, the SPCT is jointly invested in by DP World, one of the world’s leading seaport groups, and the HCMC-based Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company (IPC).
Phase I of the SPCT project was completed in October 2009 – two years after construction began in September 2007 – at a cost of $216 million.
The SPCT now has two berths and a terminal with storage capacity of up to 15,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit containers).
When the dredging of the Soai Rap River to a depth of 9.5 meters is completed this year, the SPCT will be able to serve vessels with a nominal capacity of 50,000 tons, equivalent to 4,000 TEUs.
Additional dredging to a depth of 12 meters will be carried out in 2015, enabling the SPCT to handle vessels up to 70,000 tons, further reducing logistical costs for Vietnamese exporters and importers.
Attending the opening ceremony were Transport Minister Ho Nghia Dung, HCMC People’s Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan, city Party Committee Standing Deputy Secretary Nguyen Van Dua, and representatives from IPC and DP World.
The same day, an inauguration ceremony was held in the city for a section of the North-South road axis that runs from Nguyen Van Linh Avenue in District 7 to the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Nha Be District.
The section is part of the second phase of construction for the road axis.
Speaking at the ceremony, city People’s Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan said the section is a key route linking inner city areas to Hiep Phuoc Port.
Along with Nguyen Van Linh Avenue, beltway 2, and beltway 3 – to be built in the future – the road axis section will help improve efficiency of the projects for new urban areas and create new momentum for the development of HCMC’s southeastern districts, especially Districts 7 and Nha Be, Mr. Quan said.
