The first stage of the Thanh Phuoc Port in the southern province of Binh Duong , opened on May 9, making it possible to transport container cargo to HCM City by boat.

Located on the Dong Nai River in Tan Uyen district's Thanh Phuoc commune, the new port has 37,000sq.m of warehouses and two piers which can handle 312,500 tonnes of goods per year.

The first stage, to be completed in 2014, will cost 780 billion VND (37.5 million USD) and have eight piers that can handle 2.5 million tonnes of cargo.

Work on the second stage will then begin. When it is completed in 2018, the port will have 16 piers that can accommodate vessels of up to 2,000 tonnes and handle 5 million tonnes, a wastewater treatment system, and other support facilities.

It is expected to cost 1.45 trillion VND (70 million USD).

The port would enhance the capacity of HCM City 's deep-water ports and curb congestion on roads entering the city, Thanh Phuoc Port Corporation, its developer, said.

Hitherto, all goods transported between Binh Duong and HCM City 's ports had to be taken by road.

Thanh Phuoc Port Corporation is jointly owned by the Binh Duong Construction, Consulting and Investment JSC, Nam Tan Uyen Industrial Park JSC, and U&I Logistics JSC.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, its CEO, said the port would contribute significantly to Binh Duong's socio-economic development and enable it to attract more investments.

By reducing the transport time for imports-exports, the port would help boost foreign trade from Binh Duong, he said.-VNA