Brunei's News Headlines - Brudirect.com

First With The News - Putting Your Business Online

HOME	PAGE TWO	BRUDIRECT MAIL	NEWS ARCHIVE	CLASSIFIED ADS	HAVE YOUR SAY

BEDB Names Operator To Run Port In PMB
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) has appointed International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) as the port operator for the planned new container port at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) and the Surbana consortium as the master planner for the project.

ICTSI, which is headquartered in the Philippines, currently manages 16 ports in 11 countries including Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Madagascar, Philippines, Poland, Syria, Ecuador and Georgia.

ICTSI has a market capitalization of US$ 1.5 billion and handled over three million containers in 2007.

The appointment of ICTSI follows an international tender conducted by the BEDB and is subject to the terms of the concession agreement to be negotiated between the BEDB and ICTSI.

"The BEDB recommended ICTSI's appointment following a detailed evaluation by our advisor, Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. ICTSI was selected based on its proven track record, competitive Financial proposal to Brunei and its willingness to invest with us in the development of PMB," said Dr Lim Hong Hin, Assistant CEO and

Head of Marketing and Investment Promotion at the BEDB.

The BEDB also announced the appointment of an international consortium led by Surbana, a leading infrastructure consultancy from Singapore as the master planner for PMB.

The Surbana consortium has been appointed to conduct a thorough technical investigation of the island and develop a detailed master plan programmed for the consent of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

The Surbana consortium has 40 years of experience in planning, designing, implementing and managing large infrastructure projects in 20 countries including the master plan for the King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, the Al Khor and Al Wakra master plans in Qatar and the conceptual master plan for Suzhou Industrial Park in China.

The appointment of the Surbana consortium follows an international tender conducted by the BEDB in which 16 international and local consulting firms/consortia participated.

"Our ambition is to develop PMB as the leading port in Borneo and the BIMP-EAGA region. The PMB project will transform the Muara area and bring many new business and employment opportunities to the people of Muara and Brunei Darussalam. We believe there is no reason why Brunei Darussalam with its resources and strategic location should have the smallest port on the island of Borneo," said Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Acting Chairman of the BEDB.

Muara Port has a handling capacity of 220,000 to 330,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containers compared to a handling capacity of 500,000 TEU containers in Sepanggar Port in Sabah and 400,000 TEU containers in Bintulu Port in Sarawak.

PMB is a low-lying island located in Brunei Bay close to Muara Port a land area of approximately 955 hectares. A feasibility study conducted in 2003 found PMB to be ideally suited for the development of a deepwater port and manufacturing hub. The PMB project will include the construction of a bridge linking the island of PMB to Muara town.

The BEDB will be hosting a forum later in October to present the proposed plan and implementation timetable to the local business community and other stakeholders. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News

Back to News Page

Write to Us

Brunei's Fastest Growing Website with