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INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) on Tuesday
said it entered a deal with the government of Brunei to construct
and operate a new container terminal.
Arthur Tabuena, ICTSI finance manager told the
Philippine Stock Exchange that the company has signed a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) with the Brunei Economic Development Board
(BEDB).
“The signing of the MOU is in connection with
the design, construction and development of the new Pulau Muara
Besar [PMB] Container Terminal in Brunei Darussalam,” Tabuena
said.
Under the accord, ICTSI will assist the BEDB in
the design and development of the new PMB Container Terminal.
The BEDB will award a concession agreement to
ICTSI or its subsidiary to operate the terminal once it is completed
and ready for commercial operation.
Muara Port can handle 220,000 to 330,000 20-foot
equivalent units, and is located in Brunei Bay close to Muara Port
with a land area of about 955 hectares.
ICTSI operates 16 ports in 11 countries that
include Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Madagascar,
Philippines, Poland, Syria, Ecuador and Georgia.
At end-June this year, ICTSI had invested P3.14
billion to expand the handling capacity and improve the operating
efficiency of the company’s operations in Manila, Brazil and
Madagascar.
The investment was also used to pay for the
acquisition and rehabilitation of the new terminals in Ecuador,
Syria, Georgia and Colombia.
The company’s consolidated capital expenditure
for this year is estimated at P11.63 billion. It expects to tap
internally generated funds and a committed bank facility for its
capital expenditures.
Its profit growth in the second quarter slowed
to the single-digit level as earnings attributable to equity holders
went up by 6 percent to P784 million in the three months ending
June, from the P736-million earned in the same period last year.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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