Ground broke last week on a $580m port project in the Vietnamese province of Quang Tri, English language daily Vietnam News reports.

Going up on a 685ha greenfield site in the province’s Southeast Economic Zone, the My Thuy deepwater port aims to be the main trading hub of central Vietnam.

Work had been scheduled to start when the scheme was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in January 2019, but there were issues with capital contribution from foreign partners and difficulties with land clearance, compounded by the Covid pandemic.

The project was revived by the formation of the My Thuy International Port Joint Venture Company, which is 51% owned by SAM Holdings, a Vietnamese conglomerate listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

A number of South Korean companies have also bought equity, as has Laotian construction, mining, and investment organisation Phonesack.

The authorities have now cleared 124ha for the first of the project’s three phases. This will create four of the port’s 10 planned berths, two of which will be completed by the end of next year.

When fully completed in 2036, it will be able to handle 100,000 tonne vessels. This includes all container ships up to the Panamax level, and some of the New Panamax class, ships that are small enough to navigate the upgraded Panama Canal.

The port will serve industrial parks in the zone, as well as bolstering infrastructure along the East-West Economic Corridor that links Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.