Vietnam's first deep-water container terminal inaugurated

Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT), the first modern deep-water container harbor of this kind in Vietnam, was inaugurated on Thursday in the country's southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province with the witness of visiting Danish Crown Prince Frederik, reported Vietnam News Agency. Construction was commenced in 2008 on a 48-ha submerge area close to Cai Mep River, with a wharf of 600 meters long. With a total investment of 250 million U.S. dollars from Vietnam Maritime Corporation, Saigon Habour and APM Terminals of Denmark, CMIT is the country's first modern terminal to welcome big ships anchored at a depth of 14 meters under the water surface. It is equipped with Panamax super sized crane. Still under construction, CMIT welcomed in March 2011 a ship from Columbia, the CMA CGM Columba, with a weight of 131,263 DWT and a load capacity of 11,388 TEU, the biggest ship ever anchored in Vietnam. So far, one hundred and four ships have landed at CMIT, loading and unloading goods from and to Europe, North America and Asia. CMIT will actively contribute to socio-economic development in southern Vietnam in general, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in particular, by promoting goods transport between Vietnam and other countries, Deputy Minister of Transport Ngo Thinh Duc told the inauguration ceremony.