Hutchison bags Vietnam port project

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa said today it has signed a joint venture agreement to build and operate a new container terminal in Vietnam.

The project will be in the Vietnamese province of Ba Ria Vung Tau, Hutchison's first of its kind in the country.

Hutchison Port declined to comment on its actual investment in the port project, but other sources said it is valued at $260 million.
 
Hutchison Port Holdings, which is the world's largest container terminal operator in terms of throughput, said it will develop the port jointly with Ho Chi Minh-based property and construction firm Saigon Investment Construction & Commerce Co.

Hutchison will hold a majority stake in Saigon International Terminals Vietnam Ltd, a spokesman said, though he would not specify the company's share.

The port project, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2011, will have a a quay length of 730 meters and a total yard area of 33 hectares, according to Hutchison.

The location of Saigon International Terminals is 100 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam's southern province of Vung Tau.

It is the same province where PSA International last week won a contract to build a container port, another first.  PSA, the world's second largest container port operator, will build its container port project in a joint venture with Saigon Port.

Hutchison said its terminal project is being constructed in an area designated by the Vietnamese government as a deep-sea port to provide facilities to meet growing cargo traffic.