Vietnamese steelmaker Hoa Sen ready to plunge US$700mln into deep-water port

Vietnam’s second-largest steelmaker Hoa Sen Group is ready to invest almost US$700 million in an international deep-water port on the country's central coast.

Steel works are usually located near deep-water ports to gain easy access to imports of iron ore and exports of the steely stuff.

The privately-owned steelmaker has revealed detailed plans for the deep-water port, which will be looked over by the local government of Ninh Thuan Province.

The 429-hectare (1060-acre) port will have the capacity to accommodate both tankers of up to 300,000 dead-weight tons (DWT) and cargo ships of 30,000–50,000 DWT, said Hoa Sen Group.

The port is expected to handle a total 53 million tons of crude oil and ore and up to 3.2 billion tons of cargo.

The deep-water port is a part of a multi-billion dollar steel complex that Hoa Sen Group and Ninh Thuan's provincial government have agreed to build.

Under the agreement, the complex in Ca Na Industrial Park will have a steel plant, a thermal power plant, cement production facilities and a deep-water port.

Hoa Sen Group plans to take advantage of the deep-water port to import raw materials and export finished steel products.

Vietnam plans to put as many as 10 steel projects into operation in 2017 and increase annual output by 10-12% to meet rising domestic demands.