SPCT launches grand opening for container terminal
By Kinh Luan - The Saigon Times Daily
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| Local officials and executives of SPCT cut the ribbon to launch the grand opening of Phase 1 of the container terminal - Photo: Kinh Luan |
HCMC – Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT), a joint venture between the UAE’s DP World and the state-owned Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion (IPC), officially opened the first-stage terminal last Saturday.
Located in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Nha Be District, the terminal is the first port among a cluster to be developed along the Soai Rap River to 
replace operational seaports in the inner city.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, SPCT general director Patrick Bol said the terminal, whose construction was started in September 2007, would have an annual capacity of around one million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU).
The terminal is equipped with 500 meters of quay length and 23 hectares of container yard land capable of storing up to 15,000 TEUs. The terminal is also equipped with five quay cranes and 13 rubber-tired gantry cranes.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World as well as its parent company Dubai World, stressed that “SPCT is our first development in Vietnam. We hope this terminal will be pivotal in encouraging the growth of the Hiep Phuoc IP and the successful development the city’s southern areas.”
Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung and HCMC Chairman Le Hoang Quan congratulated both DP World and IPC for their efforts to complete the first phase of the project. Quan informed that the city government has invested nearly VND2.5 trillion to build the infrastructure system which helps link the city center with this southern area, including construction of the 10.2-kilometer North-South Trunk Road and dredging of the Soai Rap River for big vessels, making access to the port easier.
The total investment capital for this two-phase project is planned at about US$360 million, with US$216 million for the first phase covering 23 hectares out of the total 40 hectares.