Visit Brunei Mora Port
At Mora Port, 29 kilometers away from Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan, a large container ship slowly entered the port. After the ship has stopped, the huge quay bridge on the wharf starts to work, and the containers are hoisted onto the wharf, and then stacked by reach stackers and stackers in different areas of the yard.
The Port of Mora is located in Mora County, Brunei. It is the country's only deep-water port and an important hub for Brunei to carry out international trade. According to the website of the Port Authority of the Ministry of Transport of Brunei, 90% of Brunei's import and export goods except for oil and gas resources pass through Port Mora. However, due to the relatively lagging operation and management technology for a long time, the location advantages of the port have not been effectively reflected, resulting in relatively high logistics costs and limited port development. The entry of Chinese companies more than a year ago has quietly changed this situation. In the first 10 months of 2018, Port Mora completed a total container throughput of 93,257 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of about 7%. The local media "Shihua Daily" stated that the arrival of Chinese companies has improved the operation efficiency and service level of the terminal, and reduced the local logistics cost, and improved the regional competitiveness of Mora Port.
The average operating efficiency of a single vessel increased by 50% year-on-year
In February 2017, Brunei Mora Port Co., Ltd., a joint venture established by Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group and Brunei Darussalam Asset Management Company, took over the container terminal of Mora Port. In July 2018, Brunei Mora Port Co., Ltd. took over the General Port of Mora Port and other related assets, and officially completed the overall takeover of Brunei Mora Port.
"The Chinese management team has given the port a whole new look." Joseman, the site supervisor of the container operation department of Brunei Mora Port Co., Ltd., told reporters that in August 2017, just five months after taking over the container terminal at the Port of Mora, the newly added The 4 reach stackers, 3 stackers and other equipment of the company were officially put into use, injecting fresh blood into ports that have not purchased new equipment in the past 20 years. After more than a year of hard work, the average operating efficiency of a single ship at the port reached 30.2 natural containers/hour, which was an increase of more than 50% compared to before taking over. The average time for the container to be returned by the external trailer was 25 minutes, which was shortened by more than 30 minutes.
Mike Mu, general manager of Brunei Wanling Company, has a personal experience of the changes in the port. “I have to import dozens of containers of goods from Singapore every month. In the past, the freight for each container was about 1,800 Chinese currency (1 currency is about 5 yuan). Yuan Renminbi), sometimes the port’s crane is broken or on holidays, and cargo storage fees have to be charged. Now, it is much faster to pick up the cargo and save a lot of costs.”
In December 2017, Mora Port's financial management system and terminal operation system were put into operation one after another, realizing comprehensive information management of the port, and further improving operational efficiency and accuracy. “The port has realized a change from manual operation to computerized system management. Now drivers don’t need to get off the truck when they hand over the cabinet. Through the computer system terminal, they can clearly know the next operation location and operation method. In terms of system operation and application, We have been trained by Chinese experts, and we have mastered it in less than two months." Mike, the central control director of the container operation department of Mora Port Co., Ltd. told reporters that he had just gone to China for training in May this year, marveling at the advanced technology and management of Chinese ports. "I hope Mora Port can develop as advanced as those large ports in China in the future."
Fakila, who once worked for the Brunei Port Authority, is the deputy general manager of Port Mora Co., Ltd., and he told reporters: “Cooperating with Chinese companies to build Port Mora is the best choice. Before the arrival of Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group, Mora Port has not improved for more than 20 years. Chinese companies have brought advanced technology and management experience, and the idea of developing the port is the same as Brunei. Our cooperation has been very smooth."
Build a shipping center in the Eastern ASEAN Growth Area
Liu Guangming, the second minister of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei, stated that Brunei will use its geographical advantage as the core of the eastern ASEAN growth area, work closely with Chinese partners, and rely on Port Mora to strive to build regional connectivity.
With the renewal of the infrastructure of Port Mora and the speeding up of efficiency, Brunei is committed to building Port Mora into an international port, making it a new economic growth point, and building it into a shipping center and transportation hub in the eastern ASEAN growth zone. To this end, the Brunei government has introduced measures to encourage the development of the shipping industry, build world-class shipping facilities, and strengthen the integration of Mora Port with international ports.
With the advancement of the “Belt and Road” construction, China and Brunei ports have made gratifying progress in cooperation in infrastructure, customs clearance, port and shipping logistics, and port industrial parks. As an important cooperation mechanism for maritime connectivity between China and ASEAN, the China-ASEAN Port City Cooperation Network has been established for five years. Through the first phase of the completed China-ASEAN Port Logistics Information Center, it has realized Guangxi’s Qinzhou Port and the interconnected ASEAN Port logistics information interconnection.
"The Brunei government hopes to take this to elevate the commercial and transportation cooperation relationship between Brunei and Guangxi, and then with China, to a higher level, and accelerate the bilateral trade and investment cooperation between Brunei and China. Brunei has many shortcomings in terms of port development. , Looking forward to more funds, technology and experience from China," said Lin Boming, chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
Development of industrial parks to help diversify Brunei's economy
In addition to enhancing the competitiveness of Port Mora through technology and management, Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group is discussing the cooperation model of "port + industrial park" with the Brunei government to attract more investment into Brunei through the construction and development of industrial parks.
"With the growth of business volume, we will build a more modern deep-water port in the future, and the most advanced giant freighters will be able to dock directly. In addition to operating the terminal, we will also build an industrial park that complies with Brunei’s policies to promote the local economy. Diversified development." Dai Chunhui, general manager of Mora Port Co., Ltd., told our reporter.
In September last year, Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group and relevant departments of the Brunei government signed a capital injection agreement for Brunei Mora Port, a memorandum of understanding on the development and construction of Brunei Logistics Park, and a letter of intent for the development of Brunei Industrial Park.
According to the plan, the development model will draw on the development and operation model of the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park currently being developed and constructed by Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group in Malaysia, using "food manufacturing", "electronic information", "modern logistics" and "real estate", etc. Industry is the main direction. This is consistent with the "2035 ambition" put forward by the Brunei government with the goal of economic diversification.
Former Brunei’s Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Ye Haiya, has repeatedly stated that he hopes to strengthen the cooperation between Brunei and China in the field of port operations. “Brunei hopes to use Guangxi’s Qinzhou Port as an important gateway to the Chinese market and further explore and promote various fields. Cooperation to comprehensively enhance Brunei’s relationship with China."