Maersk plans to build Vietnam’s largest deep-water port

Danish shipping and logistics group A.P Moller Maersk plans to build the largest and most modern deep-sea container ports in Vietnam through digital, streamlined, and green initiatives, expecting support from the Government in the coming time.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: Minh Khoi

CEO of APM Terminals, a unit of Marersk and operator of 62 container ports, Keith Svendsen presented the plan at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on March 18.

At the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam and Denmark have a long-standing tradition of friendship and cooperation and that the two countries have recently established a Green Strategic Partnership.

“This is an opportunity for Danish companies to invest in Vietnam, especially in the green economy, renewable energy, and port infrastructure,” said Ha.

For his part, Svendsen praised the Vietnamese Government's achievements in improving the business environment and facilitating foreign investors, as well as its efforts in digital transformation and greening towards sustainable development goals.

He added that Vietnam's commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions at COP26 is also aligned with the direction of developing green fleets and green ports of the A.P. Moller Maersk Group in the coming years.

The group plans to build the country's largest and most modern deep-water port, expecting to receive the Government’s backing.

Located on a major commercial shipping route, the "challenge" in planning Vietnam's port system, according to Ha, is to "ensure the optimal efficiency of international commercial transport routes while meeting the development requirements of Vietnam's industrial, processing, and manufacturing sectors." Vietnam's ports need to have a scale and model that fits the trend of green and smart ports, Ha said.

Ganh Hao deep-sea port in Bac Lieu Province. Photo: Government portal.

The Deputy Prime Minister highly valued ​​the A.P. Moller Maersk Group's plan to develop green fleets and green ports in light of the increasingly stringent technical barriers, environmental criteria, and greenhouse gas emissions imposed on the maritime transport and port sectors.

With the policy of rapid transition to renewable energy, Vietnam is ready to create conditions for the A.P. Moller Maersk Group to pilot green port projects, along with direct purchase mechanisms for electricity from renewable energy projects, if the challenges related to technology, costs, and stability of the power system are solved, Ha said.

The Adjustment Plan for the Comprehensive Development Master Plan of Vietnam's Seaport System for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, sets targets for 2030, where the seaport system is expected to handle 1,330 to 1,612 million tons of cargo (an increase of about 190 million tons), and 17.4 to 18.8 million passengers(an increase of 7.3-8.5 million). International container handling is estimated to be around 4.1 million TEUs.

By 2050, the capacity of the seaport system is expected to meet the demand for cargo at an average annual growth rate of 4.2 to 4.8% (an increase of 0.2-0.3% from previous years).

The capital investment required for the seaport system until 2030 is approximately VND351.5 trillion ($14.2 billion), an increase of VND38.5 trillion ($1.55 billion).