ĐÀ NẴNG  — The central Đà Nẵng City’s Investment and Development Fund has agreed to provide a US$7.9 million loan to the Đà Nẵng Port joint-stock company to upgrade and expand the Tiên Sa Port.

Director of the port, Nguyễn Hữu Sia, told Việt Nam News that the 13-year loan was to fund the building an international standard logistics centre in Việt Nam.

He said the loan was just 20 per cent of total investment capital ($49.3 million) needed to complete upgrading the port during the next two years.

Sia said the company would also raise funds from its available funds ($16.6 million or 35 per cent) and from shareholders as well as from the Bank for Foreign Trade of Việt Nam (Vietcombank), the Bank of Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV).

The expanded port has been able to handle 14 million tonnes of cargo, including 800,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit), and become a leading international commercial gateway in the ASEAN region by 2025. 

The Tiên Sa upgrade is the second investment project in Đà Nẵng not to use Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds after the Hòa Liên Water refused non-refundable ODA funds from Japan.

As planned, the Tiên Sa, the largest in central Việt Nam, will be expanded to 86,674sq.m, raising the port’s total area to about 29ha with total investment of $49.3 million.

The port handled 7.25 million tonnes of cargo and 73 cruise ships last year. It is a key logistics port in Việt Nam’s central provinces and the Central Highlands, as well as the East-West Economic Corridor that links Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Việt Nam.

Currently, Tiên Sa Port allows access to only 30,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) ships, and plans to be able to berth 70,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) ships by 2025.

According to the Ministry of Transport, Đà Nẵng City’s port system, including Tiên Sa, Liên Chiểu and Sơn Trà, will handle 29 million tonnes of cargo by 2030.   

The city and the port of Kawasaki in Japan have been planning to open a shipping route connecting the two ports. — VNS