Around VND6.6 trillion, or nearly US$390 million, will be required for building the 21.3-km long road connecting all key seaports in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area, but Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged the ministries of finance and planning-investment to disburse funds from other sources first.

In a statement issued by the Government Office late last week, Hai approved the project in response to a proposal from the transport ministry, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and relevant agencies. The statement specifies that the Government approves funds from an issue of Government bonds for the project.

Under a plan made by Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province’s transport department, the inter-port road will start from the lower Cai Mep container port, pass through Tan Thanh District of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and end at Phuoc An port in Nhon Trach District of Dong Nai Province.

The road will be divided into two phases and construction will be completed after six years. The first phase will be executed within the 2009-2012 period. The road will link up deepwater ports, which could receive large ships of up to 80,000DWT, with industrial parks along the Thi Vai River.

Under a master plan prepared by the transport ministry, Port Group 5, which includes seaports in HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, is one of the key drivers for socio-economic development in the southern focal economic zone. The master plan envisioned total cargo throughput at these southern ports at 53 million tons per year by 2010.

However, that projection has become outdated, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, which estimates throughput at these ports at 100 million tons next year and 222 million tons per year by 2020, given the current growth tempos at 10% per year for loose cargo and 20-22% for containers.

Faced with the high growth in cargo circulation, the transport ministry three years ago asked relevant agencies to draw up a plan for a road that connects all ports in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area, as synchronizing the development of infrastructure facilities with the development of ports is key to boosting the economy.

Deputy PM Hai, according to the statement, also asked the ministries of transport and construction to hasten paperwork to approve the expansion of Highway No. 51 linking Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. This highway also plays an important role for the transport of cargo from the above seaports to other southern localities, so Hai also set this August as the deadline for starting the project.

The expansion project will be carried out by the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway Corporation at an estimated cost of VND2.07 trillion. The 72.7-km expanded road once in place after two years and a half will contribute greatly to the development of the economic triangle encompassing HCMC, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Besides above road projects, a feasibility study for the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway will be conducted soon, along side a plan being mapped out by the transport ministry to build a railway connecting Bien Hoa with ports in Cai Mep-Thi Vai.

In late May, the SP-PSA International Port was inaugurated by a joint venture between two local corporations and the Port of Singapore Authority, becoming the first large-scale container port in Cai Mep-Thi Vai. Days later, Tan Cang – Cai Mep port developed by the military-run Tan Cang Saigon was also put into operation in early June.

These two container ports will help meet Vietnam’s rapidly growing container traffic demand and make the country a major sea transport hub in the Asia-Pacific region.