Hoang Dinh Phi, deputy head of the Van Phong Economic Zone – where the port will come up – said an investment certificate has been issued for the VND417 billion (US$18.7 million) first phase of the port.

The port, to come up on 42.21 hectares in Van Thanh Commune in Van Ninh District, can berth 50,000 tonne vessels and handle 1.5-2 million tonnes of cargo a year.

After 2020 the port will get two more terminals that can handle 1-1.5 million TEU of cargo a year.

The work will be funded by internal resources (VND200 billion or $8.9 million) and loans or sale of stakes (VND217 billion or $9.6 million), according to Nha Trang Port JSC.

The company, which operates a tourist port in Nha Trang, is partly private, with conglomerate Vingroup owning nearly 35 percent.

First approved in 2007, Van Phong International Transshipment Port was to be Viet Nam’s biggest port.

Work began in October 2009, but Vinalines called it off after nearly a year due to lack of funds. It hoped to change the design to reduce the cost, but the Government rejected its demand and took away the project from it.