99 / 148
Borneo Bulletin, Monday July 15, 2019
Page 9
Royal Birthday
blueprint takes shape
Currently, Bruneians wishing to
travel between these two districts have
to spend more than an hour passing
throughSarawak’sLimbang,andsimilarly,
travellers from Sabah or Sarawak will
have to drive past Temburong to reach
either state.
The bridge, which overlooks the Brunei
Bay on one side and Kampong Ayer on
the other, will also cut travelling time for
Temburong residents who commute to
Bandardailyforwork.Inamedicalemergency
at the Temburong Hospital, patients can
be transferred in an ambulance by road
any time of the day quickly. The bridge is
also expected to spur more cross-border
movement between Brunei andMalaysia.
In keeping with Brunei’s Malay Islamic
Monarchyphilosophy, aspectsof Brunei’s
culture and heritage are infused into
the bridge’s architecture. Several stars
enclosed within crescent moons are set
atop the bridge’s towers, which will also
carry the three kalimah of
Subhanallah
,
Alhamdulillah
and
Allahu Akbar
, with
each signature tower dedicated to the
country’s four districts.
Pulau Muara Besar
One of the most significant foreign
direct investment (FDIs) projects in
Brunei is the ongoing construction of
Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd’s multi-billion
dollar refinery and petrochemical plant
at Pulau Muara Besar.
The over USD15 billion plant, situated
on a strategic 260-hectare plot of land
overlooking Brunei Bay, is expected
to produce eight million tonnes of by-
products annually, including gasoline,
diesel, jet fuel, LPG, paraxylene, benzene,
propylene,
sulphur,
isopentane,
chemical light oil and isobutene, to meet
the demands of regional markets and for
export to China.
The project, a joint development
between the governments of Brunei and
China, is envisioned tonot onlyhelpBrunei
achieve its economic diversification goals
and boost the country’s Gross Domestic
Product(GDP),butalsogenerateeconomic
spin-offs and employment opportunities,
stimulate local skill set development and
place Brunei on the map as one of the
key players in the regional petrochemical
landscape.
ChinesePresident Xi Jinpingduringhis
state visit to Brunei last year noted that
the project “is one of the cornerstones
of heightened economic cooperation
and trade” between the two countries,
an alliance which has seen rapid
expansion, making China one of Brunei’s
most important partners.
In adherence to Brunei’s industrial
localisation initiatives, Hengyi Industries
is committed to achieving an over 40
per cent local hiring rate in its workforce
during the operations stage, with 666
jobs out of a total of 1,665 positions
earmarked to be filled by local non-
technical and technical staff.
As a further mark of this commitment,
Hengyi,workingtogetherwiththeMinistry
of Energy,Manpower and Industry (MEMI),
rolled out two scholarship programmes
to train talented Bruneians: the Hengyi-
UBD-Zhejiang University Scholarship
programme in 2014, and the Hengyi-
IBTE-Lanzhou Petrochemical College
Scholarship programme in 2018.
Students under the programmes will
undergo on-the-job training for two
years at the Hengyi Industries refinery
and integrated petrochemical plant
alongside experienced operators via
a “buddy” or “shadowing” system to
allow them to gain job knowledge and
experience.
Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) Bridge
Construction for the Pulau Muara
Besar Bridge started following the inking
of a deal between the Brunei Economic
Development Board (BEDB) and China
Harbour Engineering Company Ltd
(CHEC).
The bridge links the mainland in
Kampong Serasa to the Pulau Muara
Besar industrial area. The project
consists of the construction of a
2.7-km long four-lane sea-crossing
bridge, a 2.925-km four-lane road, and
associated utilities including power,
water and telecommunications. The
bridge, which is worth a total contract
value of BND260 million, is Brunei’s first
cross-sea bridge.
It is another strategic infrastructure
project implemented by the BEDB
to transform PMB into a world-class
industrial park, and is expected to
attract more foreign direct investment
(FDI) into the country, particularly in
the petrochemical sector and related
downstream oil and gas industries.
(Continue to Page 10)
Pulau Muara Besar