Da Nang port in the central city of the same name has handledcontainer ships of 500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) since earlythis year, an upbeat sign that it is on its way to becoming the largestand most modern container port in the area.

At a recentceremony to welcome the first ships in 2014, the port was also honouredfor its handling of a record five million tonnes of cargo last year.

In 2013, Da Nang port recorded the highest output, revenue andinvestment with 102 vessels and over 116,300 passengers. The number ofcontainer ships of 167,500 TEUs rose by 16 percent from the precedingyear while the number of passengers nearly doubled.

Between2009 and 2013, it posted an average growth of 13.4 percent. Notably,container goods saw strong expansion, up 24 percent per year.

At present, the output of containers makes up 40 percent of allmerchandise going through the port. The high growth signals that DaNang port is a part of the logistics supply chain in theCentral-Central Highlands region.

Under the seaportdevelopment plan until 2020, Da Nang port plans to handle 7.5million and 15 million tonnes of goods by 2015 and 2020, respectively.The capacity of container goods will hit a respective 220,000 and600,000 TEUs.

To reach the set goals, it will build a newwharf designed for container vessels of 3,000-5,000 TEUs and an otherone for 15,000 DWT ships at Son Tra peninsula where more warehouses willbe up and running soon.

Each year, it will invest heavily on new technology and equipment, and improve maritime services as well.

In the foreseeable future, Da Nang port will relocate Han River portout of the city’s centre, better the quality of seaport and logisticsservices while ramping up infrastructure and training a contingent ofhigh-quality workers.

It will also aim for 5.3 million tonnesof goods, containers of 190,000 TEUs and 120,000 arrivals aboard 120cruise liners, in response to the city’s Entrepreneurship Year.-VNA