New Vietnam terminal obtains financing

New Vietnam terminal obtains financing    Cai Lan International Container Terminal (CICT) has secured $100 million in financing from a consortium of lenders that will allow it to immediately move forward on the construction of a new deep water container terminal in Quang Ninh Province to support the Hanoi and northern Vietnam market.
   'We are very pleased to work with our lending partners to conclude CICT's financing. It has been a very efficient process. North Vietnam's container volume is growing at over 20 percent per year and by 2011 container volume will outgrow terminal capacity. CICT is needed as quickly as we can build it just to keep pace,' stated Le Trieu Thanh, CICT's Chairman.
   The CICT container terminal will have 10 meters (32.8 feet) draft during low tide, and be able to initially handle 510,000 TEUs per year, and 1.2 million TEU at a full build-out. Construction is slated to begin next month and be completed by the end of next year.
   'Hai Phong Port is currently the primary port serving North Vietnam.    However, Hai Phong Port is nearly full and has only -5.7 meters of draft so the largest ship the port can accommodate is a 600 TEU vessel. CICT's -10 meters draft provides shipping lines a significant operational cost advantage as they can deploy 3,000-4,000 TEU ships,' said CICT's vice chairman Bob Watters.
   CICT is a joint venture between Carrix and Cai Lan Port Investment Joint Stock Company. Cai Lan Por Investment is a subsidiary of Vinalines which is Vietnam’s leading company in the field of shipping, port operation and marine services. Carris is the parent company of SSA Marine, the largest U.S. owned and the largest privately held container terminal operator and cargo handling company in the world, handling approximately 22 million container TEU's per year. The 60 year old company serves more than 120 locations worldwide, including port operations throughout the U.S. as well as internationally in Panama, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and New Zealand.