Tuas Terminal to Commence First Phase of Operations in 2021

Tuas Terminal will commence its first phase of operations in 2021. The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said it had also reached a construction milestone for the project following the installation of the 221^st and final caisson. A caisson is a prefabricated box-like concrete structure, around the height of a 10-storey HDB block, that is transported offshore and then sunk into water to form part of the permanent wharf line.

The MPA said installation of the final caisson was ‘critical’ as it enabled the completion of the wharf construction and for the first few berths to be operationally ready. It said the usage of caissons compared to conventional piling to create a deep foundation results in improved quality of the wharf structure. The authority added that the foundational land created from land reclamation processes and the laying of caissons will be transferred to PSA, so that the port operator can begin construction on container yards and terminal facilities. “The two berths at Tuas Terminal will operate alongside existing container terminals at Pasir Panjang, Keppel and Brani which will be progressively shutdown when their leases expire and Singapore’s port operations are consolidated at Tuas Terminal from 2027.” The authority also said that the berths at Tuas will increase its total handling capacity and complement current port operations. They will be able to handle what it describes as ‘mega container vessels’, including ‘the world’s largest container vessel’.

Construction for Phase 1 of Tuas Terminal commenced in 2015 and cost $2.41 billion, with 294 hectares of land reclaimed. It will feature 21 deep water berths that can handle about 20 million standard-seized container units yearly.