Brunei’s Muara Port pushed as east Asean gateway

“What I can see immediately is BIMP-EAGA. We should promote ourselves as part of this sub-region, be able to bring things into the country and distribute to BIMP-EAGA region,” BRUFA president Thomas Koh said.

 

He said there should be policies to encourage trans-shipment and smoother flow of logistics in and out of the container port.

 

Koh said the container port should also have facilities for freight forwarders to operate, similar to other countries’ logistics centres.

 

He said members of the logistics sector wanted the port operator to be more than an entity which just provides services and facilities.

 

“Service is the standard. If you are doing a business and you are not providing the service, you won’t survive,” he said.

 

“Whoever runs the port must bring additional advantage to the port, and in turn additional advantage to the country. We want our Muara port to be marketed internationally, we want new ships to be coming in.”

 

Minister of Communications Mustappa Sirat had announced plans for port operations to be eventually taken over by a government-linked company (GLC), with the government shifting its role from being a port operator to a port regulator.

 

In a briefing held last week, the minister said a Maritime and Port Authority will be established to oversee the regulation of ports and vessels in Brunei. He said the ministry is outsourcing port operations to Philippine company International Container Terminal Services. But the government wants port operations to be handled by GLCs in the future and is negotiating with Darussalam Assets, an investment holding company for GLCs, to take over Muara Port’s operation.