The agreements, signed on October 28, bring Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) and the Surbana consortium of Singapore, which will oversee the project’s master plan, together with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) to develop the Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) port project.
Along with the port facilities, the project includes an export zone for halal food processing and a manufacturing complex for major industries, with a proposal to construct an aluminium smelter.
Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, acting chairman of the BEDB, said that the project would maximise opportunities for the people of Brunei. In particular, the PMB was a way for the public and private sectors to come together, working toward a common goal, he told media attending the signing ceremony.
“We at the BEDB are able to see what lies at the end of this road. We see a world-class container port that will be the largest port in the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area) region,” Dato Ong said.
“We see an export processing zone and a manufacturing hub that will… ensure that ships that come into Brunei laden with goods that we consume will also leave Brunei with our exports to the rest of the world,” he went on to say.
Following approval of the master plan prepared by Surbana, it is expected that tenders for the major infrastructure contracts will be called by mid-2010.
The first phase of the container port, which involves the construction of a 660-metre long quay that will have a cargo handling capacity of at least of 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) annually, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.
Pehin Dato Awang Haji Mohammad, minister of energy at the Prime Minister’s Office, told the media that the new project would create many business and employment opportunities across the economy.
“The development of the PMB will become an important step in the country’s drive towards diversifying the economy away from dependence on oil and gas, in line with Brunei Darussalam’s Vision 2035,” he said.
Currently, Brunei’s only deepwater facility is the Muara port, which opened in 1973, and which is located close to the island allocated for the PMB. With a maximum cargo handling capacity of 330,000 TEU annually, the existing port has less than half the capacity of the new project. The two ports will be linked by a bridge, which will be built during the first stage of the construction process.
Combined, the two ports will dwarf the cargo handling capacity of the two other main container terminals in the region – Sabah’s Sepangar Port, which has a capacity of 500,000 TEU a year, and Bintulu Port in Sarawak with 400,000.
Enrique Razon Jr, president and chief executive officer of ICTSI, said that while it would take a long time to fully build and develop the port, Brunei would reap the benefits in the years to come.
“I think that in the long term this development project is very good for the country of Brunei Darussalam,” he said. “It will be successful, but it is hard to put a date on when this will be. … It will not happen overnight, but with a lot of hard work it will be a success.”
The project is already generating some interest from overseas investors, with David Lewis, lord mayor of the City of London, saying that UK firms may be interested in investing in the PMB project, particularly in the construction and finance phase.
“As money comes on stream, at the moment nothing has been built, but the City of London would be extremely pleased to cooperate with the Brunei authorities to achieve that sort of facility,” Lewis told local media during a visit to Brunei on October 12.
While the new port will face competition from similar facilities in the region, it is located close to major shipping lanes and thus well placed to take advantage of regional and international trade. Combined with the government’s push to diversify the country’s economy, the port could do much to bring benefits to Brunei.
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