Seaport delay highlights shaky Vietnam economy

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? All that remains of a plan by Vietnam to build a major deep water port is 114 exposed pilings trailing into the South China Sea and a barge full of rusty machinery.

Foreign investors stayed away from the $3.6 billion project and the indebted state-owned company overseeing it bungled the job. The government has accused the company of "financial incompetence" and suspended the project. The prospects for ever reviving it are dim.

The abandoned port in Southern Vietnam stands as a symbol of the inefficiency of the country's Communist rulers, and the need to reform a massive web of state-owned enterprises weighing down a once-booming economy.

Critics say it also shows how provincial governments and state-owned companies are allowed to pursue expensive, misguided and often corruption-laced infrastructure projects.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-09-24-Vietnam-Troubled%20Ports/id-b773f266e1784e2d9dae771c40d0caec

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