Reclamation works for the first phase of Tuas Port have been completed, announced the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) yesterday (30 Nov). This marks a major milestone for MPA in developing the country’s next-generation port.
Since March 2015, MPA’s appointed main contractor Dredging International Asia Pacific – Daelim Industrial Joint Venture Pte Ltd (DDJV) and supervision consultant Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd have been working on the project, which entailed soil improvement works for 414 ha of land, including 294 ha measuring 412 football fields of newly reclaimed land; the fabrication and installation of 221 10-storey tall caissons (each weighing 15,000 t) to form 8.6 km of seawall; and deepening of sea beds to cater for larger ships of the future. The project involved a total of 34 million man hours, with the support of over 450 companies.
Tuas Port Phase 1 has 21 deep-water berths that can handle 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. Singapore’s port operator, PSA, is on target to operationalise the first two berths by the end of this year.
“The completion of Phase 1 reclamation for Tuas Port is a significant milestone, demonstrating our resilience amidst adversity, and affirming Singapore’s status as a reliable global hub port trusted by partners. It also signals Singapore’s readiness for the future,” said S. Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations.
According to MPA, Phase 2’s reclamation works are ongoing as scheduled while the planning for Phase 3 has commenced. When completed in the 2040s over four phases, Tuas Port will be capable of handling 65 million TEUs annually.
Tuas Port will be an automated, intelligent and sustainable port. It will have electrified automated yard cranes and driverless automated guided vehicles that will transport containers between the yard and wharf. MPA will also harness digital technologies such as a state-of-art vessel traffic management system and digitalPORT@SGTM, a one-stop portal for port clearances and other regulatory transactions, as well as just-in-time services to enhance efficiency of port operations and reduce the turnaround time of ships.
All images: MPA
