The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced that the first two berths of the Tuas mega port in Singapore will be open by 2021 and that it is on track to have the port completed and fully operational by 2040 after the 221st and final caisson was installed.
At a ceremony on April 23, 2019, attended by Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure for Transport, Quay Ley Hoon, MPA’s Chief Executive, said: “We are now one step forward towards realising this vision – the vision of a Next Generation Port 2030.
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“Together with our partners here, MPA will work hard to fulfil this mission that we have been tasked with, and work alongside our key partners to put in place both the hardware and the software.
Khaw Boon Wan and Quay Ley Hoon at the caisson installation ceremony. Credit: MPA
The final caisson was built and installed with the help of Dredging International Asia Pacific and utilized artificial intelligence and drones to ensure the site surveillance and engineering efficiency.
The final caisson being installed. Credit: MPA
Khaw also spoke at the ceremony and said: “Our Mega Port project at Tuas will transform our port operation.
Credit: MPA
“We have been reclaiming from the sea since independence. But the Tuas reclamation project is not more of the same; it applies complex state-of-the-art engineering expertise, using caissons for higher efficiency and safety.
“Each caisson weighs 15,000 tonnes and is a 10-storey giant! Today, we install the 221st caisson; it is the final caisson for Phase 1 of the Tuas Mega Port. I congratulate the engineering team. I commend their spirit of innovation.”
The Tuas project is central to Singapore’s plan to cement itself as a maritime and trade hub. The MPA has said that once operational it will be the biggest port in the world with a capacity of 65 million TEU.
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