Long An International Port: "Gateway" bringing goods from the Mekong Delta to the world

Long An International Port with an investment capital of more than 500 million USD promises to "open the door" wider for goods from the Mekong Delta to reach out to the world .

Long An international port is ready for exploitation.

Large cargo port in the Mekong Delta region

After nearly 3 years of inaugurating phase 1, Long An International Port (in Can Giuoc district, Long An province) is entering a new development phase when it has just completed 7 wharves, with a total length of 1,670m, with an investment of more than 500 million USD.

Long An International Port with an area of ​​147 hectares, is invested and built in 3 phases, including: 7 wharves capable of receiving ships with a capacity of up to 70,000 DWT; 7 barge berths; warehouse system, bonded warehouse; container yard system and other auxiliary works...

The strength of Long An International Port is its location in the Southern Key Economic Zone - the most dynamic economic zone in the country. The port is built on the Soai Rap River, 20km by river from the East Sea estuary, and about 45km from buoy 0. The project is located in an area with major traffic routes such as Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway (under construction); National Highway 50 (being expanded); Ring Road 3 (under construction).

The project is also part of a complex of 3 projects in the cluster, including: Long An Southeast Asia Industrial Park of 396 hectares; Long An Southeast Asia Industrial - Service Area of ​​239 hectares; Long An Southeast Asia Urban Area of ​​1,145 hectares. The total area of ​​the Long An International Port project cluster is up to 1,927 hectares.

Closing ceremony of 7 wharves at Long An International Port on June 24, 2023. Photo: Dongtam Group.

Mr. Vo Quoc Thang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dongtam Group (project investor) said that the Long An International Port project cluster is of special importance to the socio-economic development of the entire Mekong Delta region. Specifically, the project opens a wider “door” for the Mekong Delta to attract investment, optimize logistics costs, reduce product prices, increase competitiveness for goods in the region, contribute to the creation of new urban areas, improve people's lives, retain local workers and many other social meanings.

According to the investor, in the next development phase, Long An International Port will expand its scale to 10 wharves, including 1 wharf specializing in liquid cargo and liquefied gas; 3 buoy berths for mooring ships, and a center for receiving large cruise ships. When completed, the port will have the longest continuous shoreline in Vietnam (2,368m) and will be able to accommodate ships with a capacity of up to 100,000 DWT.

Ready for the challenge

Currently, Long An International Port is actively developing its container ship handling capacity. During this period, the port invested in 6 STS cranes, 18 RTG cranes and continued to expand its investment, constantly upgrading its handling equipment, aiming for a handling capacity of 1,000,000 TEU.

However, the current traffic infrastructure connecting to Long An International Port has not been completed. Large industrial parks and clusters in the province (Duc Hoa district, Ben Luc district) currently mainly import and export through the port system of Ho Chi Minh City. In April 2023, the People's Committee of Long An province started construction of Provincial Road 830E connecting with National Highway 1, Ring Road 3, Ring Road 4 of Ho Chi Minh City and provinces in the region.

This route, expected to be completed in 2025, will enhance traffic connections with the national road network and Ho Chi Minh City. At the same time, it will connect industrial parks and clusters from Duc Hoa, Ben Luc, Can Giuoc, Can Duoc to Long An International Port. From there, most industrial parks and clusters in the province can import and export through Long An International Port.

Long An International Port has begun exporting agricultural products.

However, to fully exploit its potential, advantages and capacity, Long An International Port still has much to do. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Trinh, former Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, said that in order for goods from the Mekong Delta to be exported to the world market through Long An International Port, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway must be completed. This expressway is very important because it connects National Highway 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway and Long Thanh - Dau Day Expressway.

“Provincial Road 830E and Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, expected to be completed at the same time in 2025, are very important “launching pads” for goods from industrial parks and clusters in Long An province and goods (especially agricultural products) in the Mekong Delta to be imported and exported through Long An International Port,” Mr. Nguyen Van Trinh emphasized.

According to this expert, in addition to the conditions of transport infrastructure, other conditions such as container cargo handling services, warehouse services, and customs clearance procedures also need to be invested in proportionately and be highly competitive. In particular, to increase the competitiveness of Long An International Port, it is also necessary to invest in building large-scale logistics warehouses.

Mr. Peter Hendrik Slootweg, General Director of Long An International Port Management and Operation Joint Stock Company, said that Long An International Port is ready in terms of operational capacity and equipment to exploit container cargo safely and effectively.

“We aim to reach 1 million TEUs of operating capacity by 2030, handling 10 million tons of general cargo through the port,” said Mr. Peter Hendrik Slootweg.

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