India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Ltd (APSEZ) has reportedly secured a deal to build an important new greenfield port in Da Nang, Vietnam. Located along the central coast of Vietnam, the Lien Chieu port is expected to become a major maritime gateway, helping to ease cargo handling for the overloaded Tien Sa port. It will also boost hinterland connectivity to Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Karan Adani, the managing Director of APSEZ, said that the company had secured an “in-principle approval” from the Vietnamese government for the development of Lien Chieu Port. Although the construction of the port was launched back in 2022, the project has been facing significant delays due to absence of an investor.
“We are targeting countries that are high on manufacturing or high on population, which will lead to high consumption. We are focusing on export volumes in these countries,” added Karan.
Lien Chieu becomes the fourth asset in Adani’s rapidly growing international terminals portfolio. Recently, the company has won stakes in Israel’s Haifa port, Colombo in Sri Lanka and the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
The development of the port comprises two components. The first includes building of the shared infrastructure such as the breakwaters, shipping channels and access roads. This is supported by public funds to the tune of approximately $140 million.
The second component involves development of the wharf area, which the government has been trying to get an investor to support. The goal is to build out eight container berths and six general cargo berths, as well as supporting facilities, all estimated at a cost of $1.9 billion.
With the selection of Adani Ports, the construction of the first phase is expected to begin soon. It includes building of two 750m berths for containerships with a capacity for 8,000 TEUs and above. Work has also begun on construction of a 6-lane two-mile coastal road connecting the national road system and the Lien Chieu port.
