Upon completion, the port's pier length will rise to 1,800 metres. It will be capable of clearing about 18 million tonnes of cargo every year. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Phan

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— A delegation of Belgian seaport experts will pay an official visit to HCM City in November to learn about the potential of Hiep Phuoc Port in the city's Nha Be District, according to a Belgian official.

The delegation will be led by the transport minister of Flanders, a northern region of Belgium.

Speaking at a recent conference with Nguyen Huu Tin, the city's People's Committee's vice chairman, Belgian Ambassador to Viet Nam Bruno Angelet asked the city to provide more information on the potential of the Hiep Phuoc Port.

This would help prepare for the visit of the transport minister of Flanders in November, he said.

Construction of the Hiep Phuoc Port in HCM City's Nha Be District began in 2009 and is expected to be completed next year.

Hiep Phuoc Port, which is 30 kilometres from the city centre and 17km from Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, will cover more than 100 hectares in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Hiep Phuoc Commune along the Soai Rap River.

Upon completion, the port's pier length will rise to 1,800 metres. It will be capable of clearing about 18 million tonnes of cargo every year.

The Soai Rap River is being dredged to a depth of 9.5 – 11.5 metres, which will help the Hiep Phuoc Port to meet transport demand by receiving larger vessels, according to the port's general director Le Cong Minh.

Tin said the second phase of the Soai Rap River dredging project was going smoothly. He said the city needed support for capital, technology and human resource training for the project.

In the first phase, the river was dredged to a depth of 9.5 metres, allowing the Hiep Phuoc Port to receive large ships of 50,000DWT.

After the second phase, when the river is dredged to a depth of 11.5 metres, the port will be able to receive larger vessels of 50,000-70,000DWT.

The Soai Rap River dredging project also will help reduce the distance from the East Sea to HCM City by about 30 kilometres.

Once completed in 2014, the project will help speed up the construction of the Hiep Phuoc Port.

Of the VND2.8 trillion (US$134 million) investment, VND2.2 trillion ($105 million) comes from Belgian Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans and the rest from the city budget, according to the city's Department of Transport.

Nguyen Van Cong, deputy minister of Transport, said the project would help increase connectivity among seaports and enhance logistics and export services in HCM City.

The use of the Soai Rap River, together with Cai Mep – Thi Vai River in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, is expected to help the southern economic zone become one of the country's most important zones and Hiep Phuoc Port, one of the major ports in the region —VNS