Singapore will consolidate all its container port operations by relocating to Tuas, a new port development near the city-state’s industrial center that can process up to 65 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, nearly double the 35-million-TEU capacity of the current PSA terminals.
The first phase of the Tuas Port project is scheduled to open in 2022, just before the 2027 expiration of the leases for Singapore’s city terminals at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, and Pulau Brani.
In the long term, Terminals 1 and 2 of Pasir Panjang, which were completed in 2010, will be merged at Tuas as well. But in the meantime, port operator PSA Singapore will proceed with phases three and four of the Pasir Panjang development, which when completed by 2020 will have 250 hectares of terminal space, 15 berths, and about 6 kilometers of quay length.
Phase three is projected to start operating by 2014.
The Pasir Panjang expansion, which has an estimated cost of about SGD3.5 billion, will increase PSA Singapore’s maximum draft from 16 meters to 18 meters to accommodate mega container ships of nominal capacity of 18,000 TEUs.
The two phases will add 15 million TEUs of capacity, bringing the port total to 50 million TEUs.
This, however, is still less than the projected capacity for the Tuas Port, which can handle 15 million more containers.
Minister of Transport Lui Tuck Yew said consolidating all transshipment operations at Tuas will bolster efficiency, improve economies of scale, and do away with inter-terminal transfers. It will also free up prime property that is currently occupied by the city terminals.
Photo: Quiltsalad
