Hanoi: The bad news for hard pressed Vinalines continues to roll in. A South Korean engineering firm is suing the state run firm for up to $3m for its failure to proceed with a long planned transhipment port in Van Phong. Amid crippling debts, Vinalines scrapped the port plan two years ago. However, the Korean engineering firm that was engaged to do the construction has since taken the state run shipping line to arbitration and the case has dragged on for months.
In September 2012 the government decided to halt Vinalines’ Van Phong International Transshipment Port project in central Khanh Hoa Province after three years of delay. The total project with quaysides in excess of 12.5km was originally expected to cost $3.6bn. The first phase of the deepwater project was meant to be completed in 2011. [11/07/14]
