Ho Chi Minh City has approved a $4.98 billion plan to build the Can Gio International Transshipment Port, a massive sea terminal that could reshape how goods move between Asia and the rest of the world.
Think of a transshipment port as a giant sorting centre for cargo. Ships offload containers there, and smaller vessels carry them to their final destinations. Right now, Vietnam depends heavily on foreign ports, mainly in Singapore and Malaysia, for this kind of work. Can Gio is designed to change that.
The project is led by Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), the port-building arm of MSC, the world’s largest shipping company. TiL owns 49% of the venture. The Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) holds 36%, and Saigon Port holds the remaining 15%.
The port will be built in Can Gio district, at the mouth of the Cai Mep-Thi Vai river, and will cover roughly 571 hectares with a 7.5-kilometre berth line along the water. The first phase will have two to four berths capable of handling 250,000-ton ships.
By 2030, it should be processing 4.8 million containers (measured in TEUs, the standard shipping unit) per year. At full build-out in 2047, it will have 13 berths with an annual capacity of 16.9 million TEUs, enough to dock the largest cargo ships in the world, which carry up to 24,000 containers in a single voyage.
The economic upside for Vietnam is substantial. The port is expected to generate annual revenues between VND 34 and 40 trillion, equivalent to roughly $1.52 billion. It will also create between 6,000 and 8,000 direct jobs. Beyond the terminal itself, the project will spur coastal urban development and the construction of a dedicated sea-crossing bridge connecting Can Gio to the wider transport network.
For Vietnam, this is about more than shipping. It is part of a broader strategy to attract manufacturing that is moving out of China, reduce its dependence on foreign logistics middlemen, and lower costs for its own exporters.