The central Da Nang City’s Investment and Development Fund has agreed to provide a US$7.9 million loan to the Da Nang Port joint-stock company to upgrade and expand the Tien Sa Port.

Director of the port, Nguyen Huu Sia, told Viet Nam News that the 13-year loan was to fund the building an international standard logistics centre in Viet 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 and from shareholders as well as from the Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) and 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 Tien Sa upgrade is the second investment project in Da Nang not to use Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds after the Hoa Lien Water refused non-refundable ODA funds from Japan.

As planned, the Tien Sa, the largest in central Viet 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 Viet Nam’s central provinces and the Central Highlands, as well as the East-West Economic Corridor that links Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

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

According to the Ministry of Transport, Da Nang City’s port system, including Tien Sa, Lien Chieu and Son Tra, will handle 29 million tonnes of cargo by 2030. — VNS