According to information from the Da Nang City Police website, Da Nang has just submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for appraisal, and to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval of the investment policy. Accordingly, the Lien Chieu Port project (investment mobilization part) has a preliminary estimated cost of about VND 48,304 billion.
Specifically, the project will call for investment in 8 container berths (with a total mooring length of 2,750 meters for vessels with a capacity of 50,000 to 200,000 DWT), 6 general cargo berths (with a total mooring length of 1,550 meters for vessels with a capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 DWT), a berth for river-sea ships, and a hinterland port.
Da Nang intends to invest in the construction of the new Lien Chieu seaport as a general cargo port and service berths, including shipyards; with a capacity of 50 million tons per year by 2050, capable of receiving vessels with a load of over 100,000 tons and container ships with a capacity of up to 8,000 TEU.
In the investment attraction section, Da Nang has proposed 2 options.
Option 1 is to implement procedures to attract investment for 2 starting berths in phase I, with a total port bridge length of 750 meters; the following berths will be deployed later.
Option 2 is to implement a one-time call for investment for the entire Lien Chieu port area, including 8 container berths and 6 general cargo berths for the period up to 2050 (of which the investment period until 2030 includes 2 container berths) with a total area of 450 hectares; the amount of cargo passing through is about 50 million tons.
In this proposal, Da Nang proposes to approve the investment policy of the Lien Chieu port project (investment mobilization part) according to the overall plan (Option 2).
Rendering of Lien Chieu Port (Image: VIMC)
According to Bao Dau Tu, Option 1 has attracted 2 investors, which are Da Nang Port Joint Stock Company and the consortium of Anh Phat Construction & Trading Investment Joint Stock Company – Adani Group (India) has submitted valid files proposing the approval of the investment policy for the project.
Meanwhile, according to the Da Nang City police, Option 2 has also attracted some major investors such as BRG – Sumitomo consortium. Alternatively, Vietnam Maritime Corporation has signed a cooperation agreement with Adani to form a consortium to participate in the investment of Lien Chieu port when the Prime Minister agrees to call for investment.
Businesses interested in the project:
Adani Group is present in both Option 1 and Option 2. Adani is one of the largest conglomerates in India. In terms of port investment, Adani is one of the 5 fastest growing companies in the world and is a leading company in India in port development and integrated logistics systems, accounting for 25% of India’s port capacity. Karan Adani, the CEO of Adani, announced that Adani decided to commit long-term investment in Vietnam with a total investment capital of about USD 10 billion. In which, Adani wants to build an eco-friendly port ecosystem and invest in wind power and solar power plants in Vietnam, with a total capital of about USD 3 billion.
The company that is a consortium with Adani in Option 1 is Anh Phat Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company, established in 2005, Mr. Trinh Xuan Nghiem is Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Legal Representative. Anh Phat Construction and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company is one of the largest private enterprises in Thanh Hoa, operating in multiple industries, from petroleum, mineral exploitation, real estate projects, hotels… to providing water supply in Nghi Son Economic Zone.
Anh Phat owns projects such as Nghi Son wharves 3,4,5 (with a total investment capital of VND 1,626 billion); Combination of Rest Stop and Combined Services at Quang Trung Commune, Quang Xuong District, Thanh Hoa Province; Tien Phuong Housing Area – Anh Phat Hotel 3; Anh Phat Hotel 2, Anh Phat Resort; Anh Phat Water Plant; …
The business that cooperates with the Adani Group in Option 2 is VIMC (formerly Vinalines) established in 1995, according to Decision No. 250/TTg of the Prime Minister with the mission of being the core and key enterprise of Vietnam’s maritime industry. VIMC operates in the fields of maritime and ocean transport of goods, inland waterways, roads and related support activities; Port operation, inland waterway ports operation; Agent operation, freight forwarding, logistics; Warehousing and storage of goods.
On August 18, 2020, the Corporation officially switched to operate under the joint stock company model and became a public company. Its current charter capital is nearly VND 12,006 billion. The State Capital Management Committee at enterprises currently holds nearly 99.47% of the capital of VIMC.
In 2023, VIMC recorded net revenue of VND 12,814 billion and after-tax profit of VND 1,690 billion, respectively decreasing by 11% and 33% compared to the same period.
In May 2023, Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC – Stock code: MVN) also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the strategic cooperation in developing maritime transport and logistics with the Port and Special Economic Zone Authority of Adani (under the Adani Group).
Notably, Da Nang Port Joint Stock Company (CDN) proposed to invest in Option 1, a subsidiary of VIMC holding 75% capital, established in 2008, charter capital is VND 990 billion. In 2023, Da Nang Port recorded net revenue of VND 2,436 billion and after-tax profit of VND 275 billion, a slight decrease of 10% and 14% compared to the same period. Da Nang Port has invested in several projects such as the Logistics Service Center at Hoa Vang and the investment and construction project of the port’s back yard No. 4 and 5 – Tien Sa Port.
The BRG – Sumitomo consortium previously collaborated on various projects such as the Investment and Development Project of Bac Ha Smart City (with investment capital of up to USD 4.2 billion) and comprehensive cooperation in developing the FujiMart supermarket chain in the Vietnamese market.
BRG Group was founded by Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga in 1993, initially started with import and export business. Up to now, BRG Group is providing products and services in various fields including hotels, entertainment, retail, manufacturing and trading services, real estate, finance, golf… BRG is known as a company that owns hotels and real estate projects located in prime locations in Hanoi.
Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest trading and investment corporations in Japan. Currently, Sumitomo Corporation operates in 65 countries with nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and has total assets of USD 29.2 billion. In Vietnam, the Corporation has invested in various sectors of the Vietnamese economy, including industrial parks; urban railways; power plants; airport projects, logistics, real estate…
Sumitomo has left marks in large projects such as Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi), Thang Long 2 Industrial Park (Hung Yen), general contractor for the elevated section of urban railway line No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City (from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien), general contractor for Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant, Duyen Hai 3 expansion, Phu My 2-2…
In the financial and banking sector, at the end of 2021, Sumitomo completed a USD 1.4 billion deal to acquire a 49% stake in the FE Credit from VPBank.
In addition to the above-mentioned deals, Sumitomo has also invested in the insurance sector in Vietnam through an investment and M&A deal between Sumitomo Life and Bao Viet Financial – Insurance Group. Currently, Sumitomo Life’s stake in Bao Viet is up to 22.09%, making it the second largest institutional shareholder of Bao Viet, after the Ministry of Finance.
