The planning of Lach Huyen wharf area (Hai Phong) is adjusted to meet the development trend of the fleet and the demand for goods through, which is expected to increase greatly in the coming years.

Increase the length of the wharf route

In May 2018, the first two container terminals at the gateway port of the Northern region – Lach Huyen (Hai Phong) were officially put into operation with a design capacity of 1.1 million TEU/year, the capacity to receive ships container according to the approved plan is up to 6,000 TEU.

After just over 3 years of operation, container ships to Lach Huyen increased sharply in size, from the original ships carrying 6,000 TEU (more than 67,500 tons), until now, arriving at two berths, there have been more ships arriving. 12,000 TEUs (132,900 tons).

According to the current plan (Decision No. 2973/2014 of the Ministry of Transport), in the period of 2021 – 2025, Lach Huyen will have 9 ports.

In which, 6 container berths welcome ships up to 6,000 TEU (8,000 TEU offloaded) and 3 general berths welcome ships up to 50,000 tons (100,000 ton ships offloaded). Total throughput is about 35-41 million tons/year.

However, according to the proposed new plan for the period from 2020 to 2025, the number of ports in Lach Huyen will be 7 – 9 container terminals for ships up to 12,000 TEU, 2-3 general berths for ships up to 100,000 tons.

Total cargo throughput is from 31-35 million tons/year (container goods from 2.2-2.4 million TEU/year).

In the period from 2025 with orientation to 2030, Lach Huyen will have a total of 13 – 15 berths, of which 10 – 12 berths serve container ships (from berth 1 to the downstream) to 12,000 TEU (or up to 18,000 TEU). , 3 berths upstream of wharf 1 receive general goods up to 100,000 tons.

The total volume of goods through the zone is from 76-85 million tons/year (in which container cargo is from 5.5-6.1 million TEU/year, equaling 60-70% compared to the old plan).

Notably, before the development scale of the world fleet, the length of container berths has also been adjusted with 375m/berth from berths 1 – 4 and 450m/berth from wharf 5 to the downstream instead of same berth length (375m/bridge) as before.

Mr. Ho Kim Lan, General Secretary of the Vietnam Seaport Association, said that from 2004 up to now, ships of 12,000 TEU or more have a length of 366 – 399m. By 2023, ships with a length of 366 – 399m are expected to dominate.

Container cargo is currently growing at about 500,000 TEU/year. With the average growth rate of imports and exports through Hai Phong area is 15%/year, by 2030, the growth rate of goods through Hai Phong seaport can reach 750,000 – 800,000 TEU/year.

Therefore, by 2030, Lach Huyen area needs at least 6 more container terminals to meet the demand for more than 7 million TEUs of growth. This demand for wharf development is similar to the adjustment of the number of berths of the Ministry of Transport.

Hoang Hong Giang, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, said that after receiving the report from the Ministry of Transport, the Deputy Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Transport to chair and coordinate with the Hai Phong City People’s Committee and relevant agencies. Based on the master plan on development of Vietnam’s seaport system in the new period and the deployment situation of ports, to decide according to its competence to adjust the detailed planning of Lach Huyen wharf area.

“Currently, the Ministry of Transport is still collecting opinions from relevant agencies to finalize the adjustment plan of Lach Huyen wharf area before considering and approving it”, the leader of the Maritime Administration informed.

Improve waterway capacity, expand road network

A representative of the Port – Waterway Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company (Tedi Port – a planning consultant) said that in order to meet the exploitation of Lach Huyen wharf area, the adjusted planning has also set out a development roadmap. develop roads connecting ports.

By 2025, Tan Vu Lach Huyen 2 bridge will be invested with 8 lanes, bringing the total number of lanes to 12 lanes. Along with that, the Tan Vu – Lach Huyen route will be widened with a width of 122m, including 8 main lanes and 4 gathering lanes.

“By 2050, study and invest in building Tan Vu – Lach Huyen 3 bridge route with a scale of 6-8 lanes to meet development needs when Lach Huyen wharf area reaches its maximum capacity (about 150-160 million VND). ton).

A suitable land fund will also be arranged, striving to 2030, studying and investing in a railway line in Lach Huyen wharf area,” said a representative of Tedi Port.

From the perspective of direct consulting for businesses to invest in two wharves 5 and 6 in Lach Huyen, according to Mr. Cao Trung Ngoan, former General Director of Hai Phong Port, from now to early 2025, Lach Huyen will have 6 wharves 2 berths are in operation and 4 berths (3, 4, 5, 6) are in the process of being invested).

With the growth rate of goods passing through Lach Huyen forecasted by more than 20% in the coming years, if the infrastructure only has Tan Vu 1 bridge, traffic jams and port jams are inevitable.

Therefore, while waiting for the next Tan Vu bridges to be built, the authorities should soon upgrade the No. 1 inland waterway corridor to improve cargo transport capacity, increase the connection between the port and other ports. logistics yard located along the river.

“Currently, on this corridor, container barges can only exploit sizes from 72 to 96 TEUs due to static limitations on Duong bridge. If this shortcoming is improved, the operation of barges with a capacity of 180 – 220 TEU with the capacity to transport 4 layers of containers will be favorable. The speed of cargo clearance and cargo consolidation capacity for Lach Huyen port will be improved, “said Mr. Ngoan.

Mr. Bui Thien Thu, Director of the Department of Inland Waterways of Vietnam, said that the volume of goods transported to Lach Huyen port by inland waterway transport is currently less than 1% of the total throughput.

However, in the period of 2021 – 2025, the Duong bridge will be upgraded, barges can transport up to 3-4 layers of containers, goods in Bac Ninh and localities with many other industrial parks such as: Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc will push the container cargo to Bac Ninh and put it on the inland waterway.

It is forecasted that goods to Hai Phong in general and Lach Huyen in particular by inland waterways will increase sharply.

According to the proposal of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, in the period of 2025 – 2030, the channel to the commercial container terminal at Lach Huyen will have a width of 160m, dredging height of -14m.

Before 2030, studying the channel connecting Lach Huyen container terminals is studying the solution of dividing the channel into 2 lanes for ships of up to 30,000 tons to navigate in and out of Dinh Vu and Cam river areas.

In the period from 2030 onwards, research and develop a 2-lane channel with a bottom elevation of -16m when sufficient resources are available.