Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai told the operators and relevant agencies in a meeting in HCMC on Tuesday (09 June 2009) to hasten progress on the scheme to replace all inner-city seaports by new ones outside the city.

Ministries of transport, finance, investment-planning and the city government were also told to lend a helping hand in this rezoning scheme.

Port operators and the shipyard owner were also told to quickly bring out plans on utilizing the old premises when these facilities are shut down, said an official who attended the meeting on Tuesday.

The source told the Daily that Deputy PM Hai requested the authorities of HCMC and neighboring provinces make conditions easier for port operators to build new seaports as replacements.

Five key ports in HCMC that will be shut down before 2010 and replaced by new ones are Saigon New Port, Ba Son Shipyard, Saigon Port, Tan Thuan Dong Port and VegePort.

For the case of Ba Son Shipyard, Hai suggested the operator team up with another partner to build new commercial facilities on the current premises. He also asked the ministries of finance and planning-investment to use the 2010 budget or proceeds from Government bond sales to provide funding for the project.

Late last year, the HCMC government approved a master plan to develop the premises of the shipyard into a complex comprising a financial center, a commercial quarter, hotels and service facilities, a residential area, and a square.

In the meeting on Tuesday, transport experts proposed HCMC and provinces focus on key measures such as expanding Road 25B that links Cat Lai Port with Hanoi Highway, building a road linking Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone in HCMC to Saigon – Hiep Phuoc port complex, building a road connecting the near-completion Phu My Bridge with the second beltway.

Under the scheme to shut down inner-city seaports, Tan Thuan Dong Port will be replaced by one in Cat Lai area in the city’s District 2, and VegePort will be moved to Hiep Phuoc in the outlying district of Nha Be. Meanwhile, the new home for Ba Son Shipyard will be Cai Mep-Thi Vai area in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. New locations for Saigon New Port and Saigon Port are Cat Lai, Hiep Phuoc and Cai Mep-Thi Vai.