ICTSI to end Brunei operations as government firm takes over

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) reported that its Brunei operations will end on February 21, 2017 because a state-owned company is taking over.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI said its wholly-owned subsidiary New Muara Container Terminal Services, SDN (NMCTS)’s Services Agreement with the Port Department to operate and maintain the Muara Container Terminal will no longer be renewed.

“NMCTS has been on yearly extensions to its original service agreement for the past four years. As part of the Brunei Government's ongoing overall restructuring, State Owned Enterprise Darusalam Assets Sdn Bhd will take over the Muara Port operations from the Port Department effective February 21, 2017,” ICTSI explained.

It added that “the future plans for Muara Port contemplate its integration with the development of a Special Economic Zone, which is not ICTSI’s core competency and will require huge investments on the part of NMCTS.”

“As part of ICTSI's efforts at rationalizing its portfolio to achieve the best possible sources of long-term growth and return for its shareholders, ICTSI, through NMCTS, is no longer interested in signing a new contract with the State Owned Enterprise Darusalam Assets Sdn Bhd,” said ICTSI.

Meanwhile, ICTSI subsidiary Operadura Portuaria Centroamericana SA de CV (OPC) has signed a contract with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) for the first phase of the expansion of the Specialized Container and Cargo Terminal in Puerto Cortes, Honduras.

The first phase covers the construction of a 350-meter long berth with a controlling depth of 15.5 meters, two trestles that will be connected to the existing yard, and dredging of the bay up to 14 meters deep.

The new berth will be equipped with two super post-Panamax quay cranes, bringing OPC’s total number of quay cranes to six.

Scheduled for completion by mid2018, the terminal expansion will position Puerto Cortes as the most competitive port in the Caribbean. The port, located north and along the Atlantic coast of Honduras, is the country’s center of transportation and commerce.

Considered to be one of the most important ports in Central America, it handles 85 percent of shipment to Honduras, 10 percent to El Salvador and five percent to Nicaragua.

In 2013, ICTSI was awarded a 30-year concession for the design, financing, construction, maintenance, operation and exploration of the Specialized Container and Cargo Terminal in Honduras.