Maersk and Hateco Plan $3.5 Billion Rail Freight Terminal Network in Vietnam

A.P. Moller-Maersk has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese conglomerate Hateco to build a rail freight terminal network worth up to $3.5 billion, the companies announced during President To Lam's official visit to Denmark. The deal marks one of the largest logistics investments ever committed to Vietnam by a foreign carrier.

APM Terminals, Maersk's port operating arm, inked the agreement in Copenhagen on Tuesday, according to a statement from Hateco. The world's No. 2 container carrier is deepening a relationship that already includes a $400 million container port project in Haiphong.

What does the network include?

The proposed system spans four assets across northern Vietnam:

• A rail freight terminal in Haiphong, the country's main northern gateway port city
• Three container facilities across northern provinces
• Digital technology for cargo handling and storage
• Direct connections to seaports and rail infrastructure

The network "aims to connect industrial parks, logistics hubs and production zones with major transport hubs," Hateco said in its statement. That framing matters for shippers: it targets the inland leg of the supply chain, where road congestion around Haiphong has long added cost and delay to northern Vietnamese exports.

Why is Maersk doubling down on Vietnam?

Vietnam is chasing multiyear double-digit economic growth and pouring billions of dollars into transport and logistics upgrades, with railways designated a key priority. The government wants infrastructure spending to attract private capital and sustain the manufacturing boom that has made Vietnam a leading beneficiary of supply chain diversification away from China.

For Maersk, the move extends an established pattern. Beyond the $400 million Haiphong port partnership with Hateco, the Danish group is expanding investment in joint projects including the Lien Chieu container terminal in Danang, on the central coast. Rail-linked inland terminals would give APM Terminals control over a wider slice of the Vietnamese cargo corridor, from factory gate to quay.

President Lam met other Danish business leaders in Copenhagen, including executives from Lego Group, Carlsberg and Pandora, according to the Vietnamese government website. Vietnam is courting Danish investment, technology and expertise as part of its growth push. Lam then travels to Brussels for talks with European Union officials expected to cover trade, energy and education.

What are the commercial consequences?

For shippers and forwarders moving cargo through northern Vietnam, rail-linked terminals promise an alternative to trucking, which the companies say the new facilities will help by easing road congestion and expanding options for cross-border shipments. That could tighten transit times and open rail-based routings toward China and beyond.

For carriers, the deal signals that Maersk intends to own Vietnam's inland infrastructure rather than simply call at its ports, integrating terminals, rail and port operations under one umbrella. For Vietnamese logistics operators, a $3.5 billion foreign-backed network raises the competitive bar considerably.

The agreement is a memorandum of understanding, so final investment decisions, timelines and capacity figures remain to be defined. If executed, the terminals would land in a market where infrastructure spending is accelerating — and where the government's growth targets depend on exactly the kind of rail and port capacity Maersk and Hateco now plan to build.