The burgeoning number of complex projects in the energy and natural resources markets such as in the construction, mining, power, oil, natural gas and chemical industries in remote locations has encouraged BDP International, one of the largest privately owned logistics firms, to set up a dedicated unit to cater to such projects.

BDP Project Logistics, which has its global headquarters in Singapore, currently has a staff of five here which is expected to triple by year end.

It has a network of 75 staff in various key locations in Europe and Latin America which serves clients in those regions.

The growing number of such jobs has caused BDP to change its stance from just handling them on an ad hoc basis, as it had been doing for the past 15 years, to making it a core business.

This will set it apart from its competitors like Schenker Logistics and Panalpina, which are bigger but are not specialised in this area.

The operations here have been running since the beginning of the year, and Peter Huels, who heads BDP Project Logistics, expects rapid growth of double its current annual revenue of about US$20 million every 18 months.

BDP intends to focus on three main areas of the chemical/petrochemical industry, power/energy industry and the mining industry.

Projects it has been involved in include chemical plants in Guangzhou, China; mining in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, and possibly hydroelectric projects in Laos down the track.

'BDP has a long-established reputation for doing the difficult things well, that's why we have such a strong position in the chemical and energy sectors,' said Mr Huels.

BDP Project Logistics will be in charge of project execution and management but will outsource operational functions to its parent BDP and its global network on a contractual project-by-project basis.

Singapore was chosen as the site for BDP's global headquarters because of its open economy, efficiency, good communications and close proximity to many of the projects that are being developed.

By: Vincent Wee