INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) formalizing its right to operate a port in Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), or Great Island, an area near the southernmost tip part of Palawan.
Under the MOU, signed by ICTSI vice president for business development Jose Manuel de Jesus and BEDB chief executive officer Dr. Lim Hong Hin, ICTSI will assist BEDB in the design, building and development of the new PMB Container Terminal.
ICTSI is the preferred port operator for the PMB Container Terminal and BEDB will award the concession agreement to ICTSI or its subsidiary to operate the PMB Container Terminal once it is completed and ready for commercial operations.
Under the plan, Brunei will build the multi-billion dollar world-class transshipment hub for operation this year.
Pulau Muara Besar will be developed into a deep mega port capable of handling the next generation of super tankers.
A Halcrow Group Ltd feasibility study found that that the high volume and growth in global container shipment, Brunei’s strategic location on the main east-west shipping trade route, and Pulau Muara Besar’s ideal geographical features not only make its development viable but timely as well.
The group suggested the set up of an industrial zone for export-oriented industries to maximize economic benefits offered by the proposed port. This means that ICTSI would just be one of the main components of the area and the volume would come from the nearby industrial zones, the same strategy used by Singapore some years ago.
