APM Terminals, the ports arm of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Vietnam's Hateco Group signed a non-binding agreement to study the development and operation of railway freight terminals in northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese government said on Tuesday.

• The agreement was signed in the presence of Vietnam's General Secretary and President To Lam during his visit to Denmark

• The companies will study a railway freight terminal in Hai Phong, including cargo-handling and storage facilities, as well as three additional rail freight locations in northern Vietnam, according to a statement on the Vietnamese government portal

• The proposed network would connect industrial parks, logistics hubs and manufacturing centres with major transport gateways, forming an integrated rail freight system across northern Vietnam

• The plan signed on Tuesday will bring total investments in Vietnam by Maersk and Hateco to between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion, Maersk said

• The project could help ease pressure on road transport, improve freight efficiency and expand options for import-export and cross-border trade, the Vietnamese government statement added

• In 2025, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hateco opened the Hateco Hai Phong International Container Terminal, an around $400 million deep-water container port in northern Vietnam

(Reuters)