Hateco and APM Terminals target Vietnam rail freight with new MOU

Hateco Group and APM Terminals have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to study the investment, development and operation of railway freight terminals across Vietnam, backed by wider planned investments estimated at between US$2.5 billion and US$3.5 billion.

That headline figure covers the broader slate of investments involving Hateco and Maersk in Vietnam — not the rail terminal project alone, the companies caution. Still, it signals the scale of ambition behind a partnership that is now stretching beyond the quay wall and onto rail tracks.

The agreement was signed on 20 October 2026 in Denmark, during the Vietnam–Denmark Business Forum. The ceremony took place amid the state visit of General Secretary and President To Lam, with senior representatives from both countries witnessing the signature.

APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moller – Maersk, is no stranger to the Vietnamese port landscape. The new MOU expands a relationship that began with container port infrastructure into railway connectivity and multimodal logistics.

What would the rail network actually include?

Under the MOU, the two companies will jointly study and propose the development and operation of a railway freight terminal in Hai Phong, the industrial gateway to northern Vietnam.

The proposed facility would include a cargo-handling centre and storage yards. Beyond Hai Phong, Hateco and APM Terminals will also examine three additional railway freight locations in northern Vietnam.

Taken together, the proposed network would connect industrial parks, manufacturing centres and logistics hubs with the country's seaports. If built, it would support container movements between northern Vietnam's industrial areas, Hai Phong's port system and international shipping routes.

The parties expect the connections to improve transport efficiency, reduce pressure on road infrastructure and support Vietnam's import and export supply chains — a meaningful consideration for shippers who currently move the bulk of northern Vietnamese cargo by truck.

The facilities are also expected to use digital technology for cargo reception, management, storage and transshipment, pointing toward an automated rather than labour-intensive operating model.

How does this build on the existing partnership?

The railway initiative follows established cooperation between the two groups at the Hateco Hai Phong International Container Terminal (HHIT) in the Lach Huyen port area.

HHIT began operations in April 2025 and can accommodate container vessels with capacities of up to 18,000 TEU — the largest class of boxships calling in the region. Hateco and APM Terminals are also pursuing cooperation on other port and logistics infrastructure projects in Vietnam.

For carriers and forwarders serving north Vietnamese manufacturing, the logic is straightforward. A rail-linked terminal network feeding an 18,000-TEU-capable deepwater port would tighten the connection between inland factories and long-haul ocean loops, potentially shifting volumes off congested roads.

The MOU remains non-binding and at the study stage. But the direction of travel — port operators reaching inland to control rail capacity in one of Asia's fastest-growing manufacturing export bases — suggests Vietnam's landside logistics map may look considerably different within a few years.