Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the International Cargo Ship Reception Ceremony and issues the first shipment order at Tan Cang - Cai Mep International Terminal

Also in attendance were Party Central Committee members: Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Prime Minister; Tran Van Son, Minister - Chairman of the Government Office; Nguyen Van Thang, Minister of Transport; Pham Viet Thanh, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, along with representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, Naval Forces: Major General Pham Truong Son, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Navy; Rear Admiral Do Van Yen, Deputy Political Commissar of the Navy; Colonel Nguyen Nang Toan, Party Secretary, Chairman of SNP; Colonel Ngo Minh Thuan, General Director of SNP. The Tan Cang - Cai Mep Port cluster is currently located near the intersection of the Thi Vai - Cai Mep rivers, 18 nautical miles from the Vung Tau pepper station, with a water depth of 15.5 meters in the ship channel and 16.8 meters in the port berth area. SNP is currently managing and operating 3 ports: TCIT port, Tan Cang - Cai Mep Thi Vai Terminal (TCTT), and Tan Cang - Cai Mep Container Terminal (TCCT) with a total area of 108 hectares and nearly 1,500 meters of berths. This port cluster has the capacity to simultaneously accommodate 3 mother vessels carrying 14,000 TEUs, along with modern equipment systems and professionally trained human resources. The port cluster has been and is meeting the demands of customers and major shipping lines worldwide. The entire port cluster accounts for nearly 60% of throughput in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area. The Tan Cang - Cai Mep port cluster serves as a national gateway and a convenient transshipment point for direct trade between Vietnam and countries around the world, particularly Vietnam's major import-export markets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, contributing significantly to connecting and promoting import-export activities and the overall economic development of the country.

In 2023, despite facing numerous challenges, SNP successfully achieved its set plans. The container throughput through the ports in the system reached 9.75 million TEUs, equivalent to nearly 140 million tons of cargo, representing a nearly 1% growth rate (accounting for 56.8% nationwide and 89.5% of the market share in the Ho Chi Minh City area). It ranked 16th among the top 20 container port clusters in the world in terms of throughput. In particular, the Tan Cang - Cai Mep Port cluster recorded a 10% growth with a throughput of over 2.7 million TEUs, capturing 53.2% of the market share in the container port throughput of the Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port cluster.

Regarding the speech at the ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that in 2023, the achievements of the country had significant contributions from the heroic Vietnam People's Army, including SNP. The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam is actively promoting the development of the maritime economy, identifying maritime transport as a very heavy task entrusted to the Ministry of Transport, including SNP. He further elaborated that Vietnam is vigorously implementing three strategic breakthroughs, one of which is infrastructure development, hence SNP must participate in developing seaports to connect inland water ports with major international ports in Vietnam; support localities with seaports to develop better logistics, contributing to reducing logistics costs and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products. The Prime Minister instructed SNP to contribute to the modernization of seaports and inland water ports; green transformation and digitalization of ports, relying on science and technology innovation to build smart ports, contributing to a circular economy, a sharing economy, and a knowledge-based economy. In terms of freight transport, Vietnam has trade relations with more than 60 major markets worldwide under FTA agreements, therefore, the volume of import-export freight transport is very large, so SNP must ensure smooth cargo transportation, benefiting Vietnamese goods and people; building a high-quality workforce, not only for the unit but also for other units; enhancing the capacity and combat readiness of member units; actively participating in the fight against negativity, corruption, building a clean and strong Party organization as a role model. The Prime Minister emphasized that SNP must maximize the exploitation of natural conditions on a sustainable, efficient basis, and protect the environment…