Port operator DP World, part of the Dubai World conglomerate, said on Sunday it had opened a container terminal in Vietnam, as it looks to meet demand in the intra-asia market and deep sea trades.

The Saigon Premier Container Terminal in Ho Chi Minh City is operated by DP World.   

The first phase of the project includes two berths and storage capacity for up to 15,000 twenty foot equivalent container units (TEU) at a time, the company said in a statement.

DP World, one of the largest port operators in the world, said on Jan 25 a decline in container volumes was likely to hit its full-year pretax profit, but expected results to be in line with market expectations.   

International shipping has been hit hard by the financial downturn, largely due to overcapacity caused by a construction boom that took place before the slump began.   

DP World's container volumes for the full-year 2009 period fell 8 percent to 25.6 million TEUs across its 28 consolidated terminals. The Americas and Australia saw the biggest fall, sliding 15 percent.   

For Saigon, additional dredging with a depth of 12 metres is planned, after which the terminal will be able to handle vessels up to 8,000 TEUs, the company said.-Reuters