Equipped with five Super Post-Panamax Ship-To-Shore (STS) cranes, CMIT is the first deep-water container port in Vietnam to serve huge vessels of up to 160,000 DWT. The CMIT, developed by Cai Mep International Terminal Joint-Stock Company, is operating direct international shipping between Vietnam and other countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. In March this year, when it was still under the second phase of construction, CMIT received the 131,260-DWT vessel CMA CGM Columba with the capacity of above 11,388 TEUs, the largest container vessel to have called at a Vietnamese port. CMIT have to date welcomed 104 mother ships and loaded and unloaded 151,000 TEUs. At the opening ceremony of CMIT, Martin Gaard Christiansen, CEO for the APM Terminals Asia Pacific Region, said the container ports around the Cai Mep area like CMIT were dependent much on supporting infrastructure such as roads and power. Therefore, Christiansen said, local and central authorities should coordinate with investors to develop the best infrastructure. Danish Ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen said at the ceremony that the construction of CMIT was evidence of the bilateral partnership in infrastructure development in Vietnam. Ngo Thinh Duc, deputy minister of transport, said the opening of this deep-water container terminal would help reduce the shipping time of local products bound for the European Union and U.S. markets by 7-10 days, thus increasing their competitiveness on global markets. Duc said his ministry would accelerate infrastructure development, including the expansion of National Highway 51 and the construction of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway to connect the ports in the Cai Mep area. Cai Mep International Terminal Joint-Stock Company was established on January 26, 2007 as a joint venture between Saigon New Port Corporation, Vietnam National Shipping Lines and APM Terminals of Denmark.
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