Brunei’s first marine maintenance and decommissioning yard (MMDY), developed by Anson International, is targeted to be operational by the third quarter of 2025, following a groundbreaking ceremony on May 8.
The integrated yard, located in the northwest of Pulau Muara Besar, is the pioneering project of the Brunei Darussalam Maritime Cluster (BDMC), a sub-development within the services sector, one of Brunei’s five priority diversification sectors under its Economic Blueprint.
By offering services for marine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), as well as decommissioning and restoration (D&R), Anson International aims to retain and generate significant value within Brunei.
Businesses operating in and visiting Brunei, which previously sought these services overseas—including vessels for MRO, and D&R in the oil and gas and related industries—can now access them locally.
Fulfilling existing and local demand for these services could contribute $10 million to $25 million annually in the short term, with the potential to service wider regional demand in the long term, helping position Brunei as a leading trade and logistics hub.
Director of Anson Hafriz said that from the project’s outset, more than 60 letters of intent from companies have been received, indicating strong enthusiasm and demand for their services.
The joint venture of Anson consists of local lead partner Qaswa Holdings of the Adinin Group of Companies, the Ministry of Finance and Economy’s (MoFE) Strategic Development Capital Fund, and two foreign companies serving as lead technical partners – South Korea’s Dongil Shipyard for marine maintenance and the UK’s CessCon Decom for decommissioning.
The provision of these services locally and the involvement of reputable foreign partners will also create new industry-specific skill sets and competencies amongst Bruneians said the Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II, Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Hj Md Amin Liew Abdullah.
Anson’s Planned Phases for MMDY
In his speech at the groundbreaking event, Hafriz shared that MMDY will be developed in several phases, outlining the first two phases.
The first phase focuses on vessel maintenance and repair and environmentally responsible decommissioning practices. Other ancillary services include supply base activities, offshore and onshore logistics, and fabrication and modification of modules.
The integrated layout allows for independent marine maintenance and decommissioning areas but shared common facilities to be cost-efficient and environmentally friendly.
The second phase will expand into specialized solutions focused on energy transition, including EPC for solar PV farms, marine vessel decommissioning or conversion, and well plugging and abandonment.
The yard’s operation will create more than a hundred jobs directly, with Anson offering apprenticeships and overseas training with their foreign partners for local staff.
The Brunei government has formulated a masterplan for the Brunei Darussalam Maritime Cluster (BDMC), detailing the major developments and opportunities within the cluster.
The Minister of Finance and Economy II emphasized that the MMDY serves as a cornerstone of this cluster, which will “open the doors for other related spin-offs and business opportunities to spur up and bloom in the country and act as an impetus for the further development of new industries under the services sector.”
