The construction of the Long An complex in the Mekong Delta province of Long An started on August 8.

The ground - breaking ceremony was co-sponsored by the Dong Tam Group and the VinaCapital Group.

The US$1 billion joint venture project includes an international seaport, an industrial park, and logistics zone and an urban area near the international seaport.

The 2,600 metre long Long An international seaport, 14 kilometres from the mouth of the East Sea, aims to handle ships weighing between 30,000 and 70,000 DWT. Its loading and unloading capacity is expected to reach 2.5 million tonnes in 2013 when the first phase will be commissioned. Its annual capacity should increase to 9.3 million tonnes by 2015 and 15 million tonnes by 2020.

Don Di Lam, Chief Executive Officer of VinaCapital, which covers half of the infrastructure investment, said at the ground breaking that once completed, the Long An international seaport will connect two major domestic water ways from the nation’s largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, one to Kien Luong district in the Mekong Delta province of Long An and the other to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

The seaport will also help facilitate international transportation in the future, he added.

Dong Tam Group President Vo Quoc Thang said the project is expected to “wake up the sleeping Long An” near busy Ho Chi Minh City, thus narrowing the huge development gap within the southern economic hub.

The Dong Tam Group chief added that the project aims to tap all river ways in the region and open up the shortest route from the Mekong Delta to the world, thus offering the best prices for exporters and importers.

Rol.vn - Source: Nhan Dan