“Ministry of Transport Completes Appraisal of the Proposal for the International Transit Port in Can Gio”

The Ministry of Transport has submitted Report No. 9008/BC-BGTVT to the Prime Minister regarding the appraisal results of the Project for Study on Construction of Can Gio International Transshipment Port.

In this report, the Ministry of Transport affirms that the Project for Study on Construction of Can Gio International Transshipment Port has sufficient legal basis and is in line with the policies of the Party, National Assembly, and Government. The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has duly addressed and clarified the opinions of ministries, local authorities, experts, and appraisal council members.

The Ministry of Transport generally agrees with the project’s objectives, focusing on promoting and developing the Can Gio port area into an international transshipment center, attracting reputable shipping lines and freight forwarders, and soon establishing the Cai Mep river gateway as an international transshipment hub, forming a duty-free zone associated with the international transshipment port.

The Ministry of Transport also acknowledges that the project has thoroughly assessed the conditions for the formation of the Can Gio port area, including a 30% to 70% reduction in transportation distance for international transshipment cargo compared to Singapore. It is located near the Vung Tau- Thi Vai shipping lane with a depth of approximately -15.5m, successfully accommodating a vessel of up to 232,494 tons. It also offers lower cargo handling costs compared to Singapore…

The Ministry of Transport supports the view of selecting investors with sufficient experience, financial capacity, and potential to attract international transshipment cargo. However, during the implementation process, investors need to commit, and competent authorities must closely monitor to ensure that the ratio of transshipment cargo handled at the Can Gio port area, as stated in the project, is maintained to avoid affecting the operations of other ports in the region.

The Ministry of Transport generally agrees that the project only includes a preliminary identification of environmental impacts. As Can Gio is a World Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City is requested to thoroughly study, identify, evaluate, and propose specific solutions to ensure compliance with environmental protection and ecosystem preservation regulations in the next steps of implementation.

In the process of developing the project, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City mentioned the orientation of utilizing dredged material to reclaim and expand Thanh An Island (Phu Loi islet) to the west and south, with an expected total volume of approximately 21 million m3 of dredged material. Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Transport proposes that careful studies and reports to competent authorities are necessary to ensure full compliance with legal regulations during the implementation process.