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River dredged to ease ship access
Dredging of the Soai Rap River began yesterday to facilitate access for large ships to port in HCM City and its surrounding areas.
The deepening will help create a second route from the sea for giant vessels in addition to the one through Long Tau River.
It will also help develop a new deepwater port network since the Government has decided to relocate downtown ports on the Sai Gon River.
It lays the groundwork for developing Hiep Phuoc port town as part of a strategy for the city's expansion to the south.
Soai Rap, a branch of the Dong Nai-Sai Gon River system, flows into the sea after passing through HCM City and Long An and Tien Giang provinces.
Recent studies by domestic and foreign consultants found the Soai Rap River, if properly dredged, can become a route capable of handling large vessels.
Pham Anh Tuan, Project Manager of Portcoast Co, the main research consultant for the Soai Rap route, said the route is less vulnerable to changes, has little silt deposited, and has deep stretches near the estuary that get wider.
A Portcoast survey has shown that the Soai Rap route can be deepened to a depth of 12m, though it will only be dredged to 9.5m initially to accommodate 50,000 DWT ships.
The Government has also hastened construction of a major sea route between Cai Mep and Thi Vai in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and the Quan Chanh Bo Canal in Tra Vinh Province.
The works are expected to boost economic development in HCM City and the rest of the southern region.
Hiep Phuoc Port, encompassing the Hiep Phuoc industrial park that sprawls over thousands of hectares and a proposed residential-port-industrial complex, would play a major role in spurring the regional economy, experts said.
vietnamnet, vietnamplus
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