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SAVE for
the number of seafarers on oceangoing vessels, Vietnam
could easily overtake the Philippines in almost all
aspects of the shipping industry in the next few years,
according to a United Nations report.
The 2007
Review of Maritime Transport of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) found the
difference between the Philippines and Vietnam on ship
registry and container traffic, among others, are
already too narrow that the socialist Southeast Asian
nation can overtake the country in the next few years.
Currently, Vietnam has more registered ships than the
Philippines, with 352 vessels, 30 of which fly foreign
flags, compared to the latter’s 211 registered carriers,
35 of which are international.
However,
Manila has much larger vessels with a total weight of 5
million gross tons (GT), mostly bulk carriers. Vietnam
only has 2 million GT, primarily general cargo vessels.
According to comparative figures,
Manila’s
annual container traffic remained at 2.6 million 20-foot
equivalent units (TEU) since 2004 through 2006.
On the
other hand, Saigon port in Ho Chi Minh City’s container
traffic rose to 2.12 million TEUs in 2005, then to 2.53
million TEUs in 2006 from 1.86 million TEUs in 2004.
Manila
is Asia’s 24th largest port by container volume with
Ho Chi Minh City
only one rung below, the report said. In terms of all
the containers handled in the Philippines, the country
has an edge of over a million 20-foot container units
over Vietnam, handling 3.5 million TEUs from 2004 to
2006.
However,
Vietnam has been posting double digit growth in
shipments—between 13 percent and 20 percent—while the
Philippines has suffered a 2.7-percent decline in
traffic between 2004 and 2005, but managed to turn
around by posting 12-percent increase in 2006.
The
report added that in terms of port development, the
Philippines only has Batangas Port Phase II, a
P6.1-billion project mostly funded by Japan Bank for
International Cooperation to boast of. But the project’s
privatization has been delayed by a court case involving
landowner compensation for expropriated properties.
“Port
development in
Vietnam
is being given high priority by the government, with
numerous projects either proposed or initiated. Foreign
expertise provided by global terminal operators is
limited to a handful of projects in the south.
Connecting road and rail infrastructure from the port to
the hinterland is still a concern, and the use of
economic zones may be a useful initial step in order to
attract foreign direct investments,” said the Unctad
report.
It added
that port growth “will in the short term, be dependent
on import/export cargo, which should grow following
Vietnam’s accession to the WTO.”
Moreover, in
Vietnam, ports are being built, developed, and upgraded in
most of the country’s trade sections. APM Terminals and
Saigon Port Company agreed to build a $186-million new
container terminal with a draft of 14 meters at Cai Mep
Thuong, 15 miles south of
Ho Chi
Minh City. A $160-million project is being done by SSA
Marine and Saigon Port Company for a container port in
Cai Mep Ha.
PSA
International and Saigon Port Company was also allowed
to build Thi Vai Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, and
the Hiep Phuoc project in
Ho Chi Minh City.
The Cai
Mep and Thi Vai area of Ba Ria Vung Tau province is an
area designated to be a deep-sea port under the
Vietnamese Government’s Detailed Master Plan. The new
terminal is expected to become operational in 2011 and
will have a quay length of 730 meters with a depth
alongside of 14 meters and a total yard area of 33
hectares. |
