NDR 2022: Tuas Port will be the largest fully automated port in the world in 20 years

By Canada Express News
-August 21, 2022

SINGAPORE: Tuas Port will be the world’s largest fully automated port when fully completed in about 20 years, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday (Aug. 21).

During this year’s National Day Rally, the Prime Minister shared an update on progress at Tuas Port, 10 years after it was first announced.

Phase 1 of Tuas Port has just been completed, Mr Lee said, with phases 2, 3 and 4 to follow.

“When fully completed in 20 years, Tuas Port will handle 65 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually, almost double the current volumes,” he added.

“We will have the largest fully automated port in the world, and that should make us a leading global player in the maritime space.”

Land reclamation works for Phase 1 of Tuas Port began in February 2015 and will be completed by November 2021, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said in a separate media factsheet on Sunday.

Land reclamation works for Phase 2 began in March 2018 and the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has begun planning for Phase 3, the ministry said.

The shift to Tuas Port will gradually free up prime waterfront land from Shenton Way to Pasir Panjang for the future Greater Southern Waterfront, the prime minister said during his speech on Sunday.

“The move to Tuas has already started. If you drive past the Tanjong Pagar terminal on the AYE, you can see that it is no longer used for container operations,” he added.

“It is almost empty and therefore we could place isolation and recovery facilities for COVID-19 patients at the container park during the pandemic.”

When phase 1 of the port activities at Tuas Port is fully operational in 2027, the port will have 21 deep-water berths capable of handling 20 million TEU annually, MOT said in the factsheet.

The first two berths are scheduled to be commissioned in December 2021 and three more berths will be operational by December this year, the fact sheet states.

Container port operator PSA expects to move all its operations at the Tanjong Pagar, Keppel and Brani terminals to Tuas Port by 2027, and the operations at Pasir Panjang Terminal will be consolidated into Tuas Port by 2040, MOT said in the factsheet.

Ships from all over the world call at the port of Tuas, Mr Lee said in his speech.

“Because we planned ahead, our port was able to handle additional volumes during the pandemic, while ports in other countries faced closures, severe congestion and long delays. But PSA, our gate remained open 24/7 all the time,” he added.

“And we’ve strengthened Singapore’s position as a ‘catch-up port’, as ships can make up time here for delays elsewhere.”

Singapore handled a record high of 37.5 million TEU in 2021 and maintained its position as the world’s busiest transhipment hub, he noted.

The move to Tuas has modernized and improved the port operations, said Mr. Lee.

Automated and digitized, the new port uses artificial intelligence to seamlessly coordinate operations such as vessel traffic management and port releases. Instead of trucks with drivers, the new port will deploy a fleet of self-driving, automated guided vehicles, Lee says.

PSA will deploy a private 5G network to support 5G-enabled automated guided vehicles and automated cranes at Tuas Port and the current Pasir Panjang Terminal, MOT said in the factsheet.

PSA is also investigating the future use of 5G in freight handling, the fact sheet says. The container port operator aims for Tuas Port to have net zero emissions by 2050, according to the Ministry of Transport.

“This smooth transition owes a lot to our dock workers, unions, PSA and MPA. Management and unions worked hand in hand to retrain workers and help them adapt to new work environments,” the prime minister said.

“And for their part, employees learned new skills, improved themselves and became more productive.”