Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and participants press the buttons to launch lunar new year operations of Tan Cang-Cat Lai port (Photo: VNA)

HCM City – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 29 attended a ceremony to give the order to handle the first cargo in the Year of the Cat at Tan Cang-Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh City.

Over the past 34 years, the port, run by the Saigon New Port Corporation under the Vietnam People's Navy, has developed from an old military port into a successful trademark both domestically and internationally in terms of maritime economy.

The corporation is operating eight container ports, including the three largest and most modern ones in Vietnam, accounting for 55% of the domestic market share. The Tan Cang-Cat Lai is among 20 container port clusters with highest production in the world.

Last year, despite many difficulties, the corporation posted a rise of 5.4% in revenue and 16.2% in profit, while paying over 1.9 trillion VND (80.96 million USD) to the State budget.

Addressing the event, PM Chinh expressed delight at the operational efficiency of the port and its significant contributions to national socio-economic development as well as national defence. He highlighted the role of Tan Cang-Cat Lai port, the largest seaport of Vietnam, which contributes about 18% to HCM City’s total budget collection.

The PM underlined the need to develop modern and efficient transport and logistics sectors, meeting the import-export demands of businesses and reducing cost, thus enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods.

The Government leader asked the Saigon New Port Corporation to continue to promote its tradition and its key role in deep-water seaport development in the country, maintaining its position as the pioneer in implementing the Vietnamese maritime economic development strategy until 2030 with a vision to 2045. He pledged that the Government, ministries and sectors will always accompany with and support the firm and the whole Vietnamese business community in general.

Also on January 29, PM Chinh inspected the construction of the Belt Road No.3 in HCM City. The project has a total length of 76km, passing HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An provinces. It has a total investment of about 75.37 trillion VND (3.21 billion USD), sourced from the central and local budget. Construction work on the route started in 2023 and is expected to complete in 2026.

PM Chinh examined some construction sites of the project and visited the resettlement area for locals who had to relocate to give land for the road at Long Binh-Long Thanh My ward of Thu Duc city.

He asked HCM City and Thu Duc city to promptly complete procedures to provide land for resettled residents, and speed up the construction of the infrastructure system of resettlement area. He requested the city to accelerate ground clearance and ensure that the project is basically completed and opened for traffic in June 2025.