A happy ending for the troubled fate of An Thoi Port

Relevant ministries and sectors are very close to transferring An Thoi - Phu Quoc port to the People's Committee of Kien Giang province for management and exploitation, thereby helping to revive this important seaport.

An Thoi port project has never fully exploited its investment efficiency since its completion.

Transfer to local

The transfer of An Thoi – Phu Quoc seaport infrastructure assets is currently under the control of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committee of Kien Giang province, according to Official Dispatch No. 6934/VPCP – CN of the Government Office conveying the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, which was issued in the middle of last week.

Specifically, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committee of Kien Giang province, according to their assigned functions and tasks and based on the provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, Decree No. 43/2018/ND-CP on the management, use and exploitation of maritime infrastructure assets and the opinions of relevant ministries and agencies to consider and decide according to their authority on the transfer of An Thoi port infrastructure assets.

The An Thoi seaport investment project was implemented by the Ministry of Transport in April 2008 and was announced to be put into use in June 2013.

The total investment cost of the project is 157.62 billion VND, funded by the state budget. The project includes Package 1: 3,000 DWT wharf, port embankment, houses, workshops and technical infrastructure works; Package 2: Buoy wharf, dredging, signaling. The original value of the asset is 128.085 billion VND; the remaining value of the asset (in 2021) is 87.54 billion VND.

It is known that at the end of August 2024, the Ministry of Transport issued Official Dispatch No. 8990/BGTVT - KCHT requesting the Prime Minister to consider immediately transferring the infrastructure assets of An Thoi seaport from the Ministry of Transport to the People's Committee of Kien Giang province for management and exploitation.

“This plan will comply with the provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets and Decree No. 43/2018/ND-CP on management, use and exploitation of maritime infrastructure assets. At the same time, it will help the People's Committee of Kien Giang province to be proactive in implementing port management and exploitation in line with the development orientation of the region; overcoming the shortcomings in the management and exploitation of An Thoi seaport in the recent period,” said Mr. Nguyen Xuan Sang, Deputy Minister of Transport.

Previously, in Notice No. 189/TB-VPCP dated April 27, 2024 of the Government Office, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned the Ministry of Transport to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and agencies to study and propose the transfer of An Thoi - Phu Quoc seaport infrastructure assets to the People's Committee of Kien Giang province for management according to the proposal of this locality and propose a handling plan according to legal regulations on management and use of public assets, avoiding waste of assets.

It should be added that, although it was expected to be a key maritime infrastructure project, helping to connect Phu Quoc with the mainland, since its operation in 2013, An Thoi port has never fully exploited its investment efficiency.

Accordingly, in 2013, the Vietnam Maritime Administration organized a bidding for leasing the exploitation of An Thoi seaport infrastructure with the lessee being the consortium of Saigon Transport Services Joint Stock Company - Hiep Phuoc Maritime and Development Investment Joint Stock Company.

Due to the lessee's violation of the contract provisions on payment obligations, the Vietnam Maritime Administration unilaterally terminated the Contract on January 1, 2021.

By the end of 2022, the Vietnam Maritime Administration will continue to organize an auction to lease the right to exploit An Thoi seaport infrastructure assets with the lessee being the consortium of Namaste Investment and Development Joint Stock Company and Saigon Port Joint Stock Company.

However, this second lessee still did not carry out the procedures to put An Thoi port into operation, did not pay the full rent, and did not perform the contract guarantee. Based on the provisions of the contract, the Vietnam Maritime Administration unilaterally terminated the contract on February 18, 2024. Currently, An Thoi port has temporarily announced the closure of the port, awaiting the handling opinions of the competent authorities.

Towards becoming a tourist port

According to the Ministry of Transport, there are many reasons why An Thoi seaport is not operating effectively as planned.

Specifically, in Phu Quoc there are no industrial zones, no export production facilities, so there are no import and export goods.

The main goods are construction materials for civil construction projects and goods related to people's livelihood, but because the port is located in the southern part of the island, far from projects and construction works under construction, loading and unloading goods at An Thoi port will require transportation by road, causing high costs.

In addition, An Thoi seaport was invested and built by the State without accompanying port exploitation equipment, so the lessee must invest in necessary equipment to exploit general cargo. The road connecting to An Thoi seaport is narrow, with markets on both sides of the road, making it difficult for vehicles to move into the port; people's activities take place very complicatedly at An Thoi seaport.

“Currently, the area in front of the port gate is being encroached upon by households for business purposes, affecting the order, safety and security of the port. The water area in front of the An Thoi wharf and port has many fishing boats and aquaculture rafts of fishermen anchored, making it difficult for ships to enter and exit to load and unload goods,” said a leader of the Ministry of Transport.

Despite the above shortcomings, An Thoi port still has great potential for revival if new exploitation directions are found.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Vice Chairman of Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee, with the current speed of tourism development in Phu Quoc, the demand for transporting passengers and goods to Phu Quoc by sea is increasing, with the largest passenger transport fleet in the country, averaging over 1.5 million passengers and 418,000 tons of goods per year; it is forecasted that by 2030, the number of passengers could reach 5.32 million and 1.9 million tons of goods.

Meanwhile, on Phu Quoc Island, up to now, only two main ports, Bai Vong Port and An Thoi Port, are still identified as the main hubs, taking on all passenger and cargo reception. The natural conditions of An Thoi sea area are very favorable for receiving large ships of 3,000 DWT.

On the other hand, the South An Thoi area concentrates a lot of vehicles, inland waterway vehicles do not have docks to transport, pick up and drop off tourists around the islands, entertainment services at sea, in the area only An Thoi port ensures the conditions and needs for people to anchor and operate safely.

“In case of being assigned assets, we will soon develop a project to manage and exploit water transport activities in Phu Quoc City. In which, An Thoi port will be the center, aiming to improve state management in the area, attract investment in the transport sector, improve the quality of transport activities, especially water transport serving passengers and tourism”, said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/cai-ket-co-hau-cho-so-phan-long-dong-cua-cang-an-thoi-d226745.html