Brunei seeks port consortium
Brunei's government is looking for an established shipping affiliate to form a consortium for its Pulau Muara Besar deep-water port project.
According to a government commissioned Oxford Business Group (OBG) report, the consortium will probably include a major shipping line and a global port operator.
The $2.3 billion project will see the construction of a five kilometre quay port on Pulau Muara Besar which is located along major east-west shipping routes.
“Compared to other ports in the region, the project's (naturally) deep water will give Brunei the competitive advantage it needs to attract larger vessels,” stated OBG.
“Due to the country's natural landscape, only minimal dredging would be required to construct the port,” added OBG.
According to calculations in the report, the project only needs to capture 5% of the growing transshipment market in the region for its development to be profitable.
Officials expect the port to handle 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) before 2010 and be among the top 50 ports in the world.
Also proposed is the creation of an export processing zone on Pulau Muara Besar.
Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) chairman Dato Paduka Timothy Ong has said that “for Pulau Muara Besar to be economically viable, there is a need to develop export industries on the island and we need a good port operator.”
According to Dato Ong, the BEDB has already received expressions of interest from two regional port operators to invest in and operate Pulau Muara Besar.
According to a government commissioned Oxford Business Group (OBG) report, the consortium will probably include a major shipping line and a global port operator.
The $2.3 billion project will see the construction of a five kilometre quay port on Pulau Muara Besar which is located along major east-west shipping routes.
“Compared to other ports in the region, the project's (naturally) deep water will give Brunei the competitive advantage it needs to attract larger vessels,” stated OBG.
“Due to the country's natural landscape, only minimal dredging would be required to construct the port,” added OBG.
According to calculations in the report, the project only needs to capture 5% of the growing transshipment market in the region for its development to be profitable.
Officials expect the port to handle 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) before 2010 and be among the top 50 ports in the world.
Also proposed is the creation of an export processing zone on Pulau Muara Besar.
Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) chairman Dato Paduka Timothy Ong has said that “for Pulau Muara Besar to be economically viable, there is a need to develop export industries on the island and we need a good port operator.”
According to Dato Ong, the BEDB has already received expressions of interest from two regional port operators to invest in and operate Pulau Muara Besar.