Trying to kill two birds with one stone, authorities in Vietnam are soon to announce plans to limit the number of ships calling in congested, and shallow water Ho Chi Minh City in a bid to shift them to the underutilised ports complex at Cai Mep to the south.
The Vietnam Maritime Administration will shortly announce measures to stimulate traffic at Cai Mep, a $1.75bn series of deepwater box terminals created in 2009 that have been running at a significant loss ever since.
Other Southeast Asian nations have tried similar initiatives with mixed success. Thailand managed the shift from Bankok Port to Laem Chabang Port very well, but ongoing efforts in the Philippines to move traffic from the congested capital, Manila, to either Batangas to the south or Subic Bay to the north, have met with only limited take up.
