Loading and unloading containers at Chu Lai Port. — Photo courtesy of THACO

QUẢNG NAM — Chu Lai Port belonging to THACO Group’s Trường Hải International Logistics Limited Liability Company has invested in infrastructure, equipment, technology, and services to ensure its development is commensurate with the planning and long-term development orientations.

It includes building a wharf that is capable of handling ships of 50,000 tonnes, which will greatly contribute to improve the capacity of logistics supply chain, facilitate import and export, create a driving force for production activities, and effectively exploit the region’s potential and advantages.

One of 15 tier-1 ports (national seaport, regional hub) in Việt Nam’s master plan for seaport development in the period of 2021-30, with a vision to 2050, Chu Lai Port in Quảng Nam Province plays an important role in imports and exports and promote trade for the central and Central Highlands regions.

Chu Lai Port was built in 2012 to meet THACO’s transport and import-export needs after it invested in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.

Logistics costs in Quảng Nam used to be 50 per cent, even 100 per cent, higher than on the south-north route, and so developing Chu Lai Port and ancillary services has significantly helped reduce logistics costs.

It has become a major logistics hub serving freight forwarding and transport of import and export goods for enterprises in the central and Central Highlands regions.

In recent years THACO's multi-industry interests ranging from automobiles, mechanical engineering, and agriculture to supporting industries, construction, and trade and services have been growing, making it a major customer of Chu Lai Port.

In addition, companies based in industrial parks like Tam Thăng, Bắc Chu Lai, Dung Quất, and VSIP also have an increasing demand for logistics services to serve their production and export needs.

Exports of CBU cars using containers at Chu Lai Port. — Photo courtesy of THACO

Trương Hoàn Lạc, director of the Quảng Nam Maritime Port Authority, said the volume of imports and exports through ports has grown rapidly, especially of machinery, components and equipment serving projects in the central and Central Highlands regions, and is expected to surpass 4 million tonnes this year and 13-16 million tonnes by 2030.Exports of CBU cars using containers at Chu Lai Port. — Photo courtesy of THACO

With increasing demand, local ports, especially Chu Lai, need to expand in scale and develop their infrastructure to improve the region’s logistics capacity.

Lê Trí Thanh, chairman of the Quảng Nam Province people's committee, said Chu Lai would definitely become the central region’s major port if it perfects channels and warehouse system, attracts more cargo sources, and capitalises on THACO Group’s regular transport requirement.

Largest container port in central region

During a visit to the province in March, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said Chu Lai could become an important transshipment port for the Central Highlands provinces and even for Laos, and requested THACO, through a public-private partnership, to help expand the port to accommodate large ships.

To meet some urgent needs, the port is building a wharf to receive vessels of up to 50,000 tonnes. The existing Kỳ Hà channel is quite long (about 11km) but not deep enough to allow large ships.

To reduce the distance, the prime minister instructed Quảng Nam Province to develop the Cửa Lở channel to handle ships of 50,000 tonnes. The province will also dredge the Kỳ Hà channel to increase its depth from 8.5m to 10m.

Chu Lai Port has completed all the procedures required to build a wharf that can handle ships of up to 50,000 tonnes. — Photo courtesy of THACO

Chu Lai Port has completed all documents and procedures for the project to expand the wharf 365m downstream that connects with the existing one (471m), has a depth of 14.7m and is expected to open in September 2023.

It is built along with infrastructure that can be upgraded to receive ships of 100,000 tonnes in future.

The port is getting a lot of modern loading and unloading equipment such as STS gantry cranes (reaching 40m, lifting capacity 42 tonnes) at the wharfs, an RTG wheel crane and forklifts, and expands warehouses, container yards, logistics, and non-tariff areas to improve storage and handling.

The port, logistics and non-tariff zone has an area of 142 ha, of which 50 ha was completed in phase 1 in 2021 and another 50ha will be used in phase 2 in 2022 - 2023.

THACO is in the process of expanding the area to 170ha by 2025.

Projects to develop Cửa Lở and Kỳ Hà channels and a wharf to receive ships of 50,000 tonnes will contribute to completing the Quảng Nam seaport infrastructure, with Chu Lai Port being the focus point, to serve the increasing import and export needs of the region.

Trần Bá Dương, THACO chairman, said: "We are striving to put into operation the 50,000-tonne wharf and new channel by 2025 and ensure that logistics costs are as cheap as on the north-south route or even cheaper, while going faster.”

With modern infrastructure, and an abundant source of goods, Chu Lai is expected to become the largest container port in the central region, helping businesses boost production and exports and at the same time attracting investment, to contribute to its socio-economic development. — VNS