After completion, the port would consist of 17 piers, aiming to become a major transhipment point for the south-central coast and the Central Highlands, relieving pressure on seaports in the region and Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, secretary of Ninh Thuan Provincial Party Committee, gave presents to engineers and labourers at the Ca Na seaport complex

On February 9, Nguyen Duc Thanh, secretary of Ninh Thuan Provincial Party Committee, and Tran Quoc Nam, chairman of the Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee, visited the Ca Na seaport complex in the southern province of Ninh Thuan, whose developer is Trungnam Group, a leading renewable energy investor in Vietnam.

The first phase of the complex has a cargo throughput capacity of approximately 3.7 million tonnes per year, with a total investment value reaching $282 million. The complex encompasses wharves, rafts, yards, warehouses, auxiliary works, services, and technical infrastructure centres.

The project's construction began in August 2020 and was divided into three stages.

After roughly a year and a half, the investor has completed the first phase and essentially levelled the cargo yards and associated areas for port operation and exploitation. The investor is now rushing to complete final legal procedures to be able to bring the port into operation during the second quarter of this year.

The investor has now completed the first phase and levelled the cargo yards and associated areas for port operation and exploitation after 1.5 years of construction

For the second phase, the investor is building bored piles and also levelling the cargo yard, which is projected to be completed and commence operation in 2023, one year ahead of schedule.

For the auxiliary area of phase 1, the investor is undertaking the construction of functional dwellings and traffic works to be operational in the third quarter this year.

In 2021, overcoming difficulties during construction due to the pandemic, Trungnam Group ensured the project progress. Regarding the company's business plan and port operations in 2022, Nguyen Tam Thinh, chairman of the board at Trungnam Group, shared at the February meeting with Ninh Thuan leaders – that was based on regional market conditions and specific peculiarities – Trung Nam has established a seaport business plan, focusing on serving construction materials and local products, with a total estimated output of 1.3 million tonnes per year.

In a relevant development, the Ca Na liquefied natural gas power centre had been added to the Power Development Plan VII and the draft of the follow-up plan.

As a result, the LNG port subdivision serving the Ca Na LNG power centre, the system of roads, pipelines, and water intakes, has also been added to Ca Na port’s construction planning, as noted in Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee Decision No.221/QD-UBND dated May 15, 2021.

The plant will provide an excellent opportunity to turn Ninh Thuan into a national energy centre, following the National Assembly's Resolution No.31/2016/QH14 and the government’s Resolution No.115/NQ- CP from 2018.

Showing delight during the visit to Ca Na seaport complex, Nguyen Duc Thanh, secretary of Ninh Thuan Provincial Party Committee said, “We express our gratitude to the leaders, staff members, and workers who have worked day and night continuously, even during Lunar New Year, playing a crucial part in creating a fresh atmosphere in the province at the start of the new year and heralding a new period of development for Ninh Thuan.”

Swiftly removing hurdles

The Ca Na urban, industry, and port complex

The completion of the first phase of the project, according to Trungnam Group, is essential to create an inclusive urban centre with a scale reaching tens of billions of US dollars in the future.

According to the investor, the most significant challenge the project is now facing is the short supply of levelling materials. For instance, Ca Na port’s phase 1 required roughly 1.5 million cu.m of sand and nearly 10 million cu.m of stone for levelling and buildings of all kinds. As a result, Trungnam Group requested that Ninh Thuan assists investors in removing obstacles and quickly tackling the shortage of building materials.

Further, Ninh Thuan People's Committee is hoped to agree on policy and support to speed up the legal procedures for the nearby mining quarry; the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is then to support the appraisal of documents for Ca Na port's dredging project adjustment; and the port's management board assists in quickly expediting legal procedures for dredging Ninh Chu Port in Ninh Hai district and Dong Hai port in Phan Rang-Thap Cham.

At the meeting with Ninh Thuan leaders, Trungnam Group also requested the Provincial People's Committee to allow the company's participation in the second phase of Ca Na seaport complex’ bidding to create a port capable of hailing ships with capacity reaching 300,000 DWT, thus giving Ca Na's seaport system the pole position Vietnam’s and Southeast Asia’s seaport map.

Regarding Trung Nam Group’s proposals, Nguyen Duc Thanh, secretary of Ninh Thuan Provincial Party Committee, has assigned local relevant management agencies to scale up efforts to support the investor as the complex is a crucial project for the province.