Chairman of Da Nang Port Company Nguyen Thu told Viet Nam News that the upgrade was aimed at raising the port’s standards to an international level in the coming years.

"We have raised funds ourselves and via shareholders for the second phase of Tien Sa Port’s upgrade in the 2016-18 period. The port was designed to handle 14 million tonnes of cargo, including 800,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit), in 2025," Thu said.

"We decided not to use Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds for the port, and hope to accelerate the construction process to begin operations soon," he said.

Company General Director Nguyen Huu Sia said the Foreign Trade Bank of Viet Nam (Vietcombank), the Bank of Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) and the city’s Investment and Development Fund have agreed to provide loans for the project.

"We have also raised VND350 billion ($16.6 million) ourselves for the project, and have called for investment from shareholders and other sources," Sia said.

As scheduled, Tien Sa Port will be built as a ‘valley’ of logistics, warehouse, transport and digital customer clearance services, besides having representative offices of shipping companies and banks.

Sia said two piers, measuring 310m and 210m in length, would be constructed to dock container ships.

Last year, Da Nang’s ports handled a record six million tonnes of cargo, and hosted nearly 120,000 tourists disembarking from cruises.

The company also sold more than 8.3 million shares, worth 12.57 per cent of the charter capital, in its initial public offering (IPO) in Ha Noi last June, with each share being offered at VND11,400 ($0.54).

According to the port, the actual value of the state capital in the port is VND654.5 billion ($31.16 million).

The company’s revenue grew in the last three years (2011-13) from VND307.9 billion to VND446.5 billion ($14.6 million-$21.2 million), while its after-tax profit increased from VND8.6 billion to VND44.9 billion ($409,000-$2.1 million).

The port, established in 1976, has operated as a limited company under the ownership of the Viet Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) since 2008.

According to Viet Nam’s seaport system development plan towards 2020, Da Nang Port has been confirmed as a major commercial port in the region, making it one of the key gateways to the East Sea from the sub-Mekong region.

It handles cargo communication and encourages economic development and tourism in Viet Nam’s central provinces and the Central Highlands, southern Laos and northeast Thailand via the East-West Economic Corridor.

Currently, Tien Sa Port allows access to only 30,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) ships, while 50,000 DWT container ships can dock at Lien Chieu.

The central city and the port of Kawasaki in Japan have agreed to open a shipping route connecting the two ports in the future.