Ca Mau News

A report in the Straits Times Vietnam is set to build a US$2.5 billion seaport in Ca Mau, its southernmost province, hoping to steal some spotlight away from the more popular regional hubs Singapore and Malaysia and could be a clue to Kra Canal. Vietnam announced that it would build a US$2.5 billion deep-water seaport, named Hon Khoai Port, on an island 17km off the coast of Ca Mau, Vietnam's southern-most province. The project was approved by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The decision to build the portdoes not really make complete economic sense - until it is superimposed on the potentially heady commercial traffic the Kra Canal stands to provide.

Vietnam's government has agreed on a port project in the southern province of Ca Mau, costing some $2.5 billion according to media reports and which would be able to host some of the world's biggest ships. The Hon Khoai port would be built under a public-private partnership, the government said in a statement on Saturday, while local media, citing a provincial proposal, said 85 percent of the funding would be via loans from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The remaining 15 percent of the cost will come from the private sector. State-run news website VnEconomy said the provincial authority had proposed local, unlisted Cong Ly Construction-Trading-Tourism Co as investor for the project.

Ships from six navies, dozens of military aircraft, sweeps with radar technology that can spot a soccer ball from hundreds of feet in the air - all have failed to find a single confirmed trace of a Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished three days ago. For the sailors and aircrew, it has been a frustrating operation. One reported sighting of the plane's tail turned out to be a few logs tied together. On Monday, a Vietnamese jet spotted what it believed was a yellow airline life raft floating in the sea. A helicopter scrambled to investigate pulled a moss-covered cable reel cover from the sea. The massive search is mainly in a 50-nautical mile radius from the point of last radar contact with the plane, midway between Malaysia's east coast and the southern tip of Vietnam.

1800-Congress forbade citizens to own an interest in vessels engaged in the slave trade or to serve on such vessels. 1956-The President signed Public Law 519, which brought all previously uninspected vessels on navigable waters carrying more than six passengers for hire under inspection laws. These were chiefly party-fishing motorboats, excursion sailboats, and ferry barges. Public attention had been focused on the inadequacy of existing inspection laws by the hundreds of lives lost on uninspected vessels. 1966-CGC Point Grey was on patrol near South Vietnam's Ca Mau peninsula when she sighted a 110-foot trawler heading on various courses and speeds. Suspicions aroused, Point Grey commenced shadowing the trawler.

Construction of a $106m shipbuilding complex began in Hau Giang Province. The plant is expected to be a major booster to economic growth in the Mekong Delta. The complex will produce ships of up to 70,000 tons. The state-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) has planned to pour $68.7m in the plant. The complex will also house a container production factory, a ship engine manufacturing plant, ports, and a self-reliant thermo-electric power plant. Three other Mekong Delta provinces, Long An, Ca Mau and Kien Giang, have also begun work on ship yards to produce 20,000-100,000-ton vessels. Source: Thanhnien News

The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) recently announced it would invest $18.9m in the construction of a shipyard in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Vinashin, the country’s largest shipbuilder, said it had selected a 54 hectare site in the province’s Nam Can District for the new facility, which is to be used to build ships displacing 5,000-10,000 tonnes, the average size of its current fleet. Up to 4,000 employees will work at the new shipyard once it is operational in 2008, and the State-owned company is already working with provincial authorities to train local workers. Vinashin said its latest project was part of its plan to increase local content in shipbuilding to 65 per cent by 2010, which would require investment of about $633m.

According to reports, Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) recently announced it would invest $18.9m in the construction of a shipyard in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Vinashin said it had selected a 54 hectare site in the province’s Nam Can District for the new facility, which is to be used to build ships displacing 5,000-10,000 tons, the average size of its current fleet. Up to 4,000 employees will work at the new shipyard once it is operational in 2008, and the State-owned company is already working with provincial authorities to train local workers. Vinashin said its latest project was part of its plan to increase local content in shipbuilding to 65 percent by 2010, which would require investment of about $633 m.