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Next Generation Port in Tuas
26 November 2022
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📷: Next Generation Port (NGP) in Tuas (Ministry of Transport, Singapore)
Singapore’s maritime industry and ports are key drivers of our economy but competition is intensifying. Regionally, emerging ports in Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Laos and Malaysia are boosting investments in port infrastructure and capabilities. We also see threatening shifts to trade and supply routes with the increased connectivity between China and the world, under the Belt and Road Initiative. How to weather these uncertain prospects and secure our maritime position for the future?
#ChallengeAccepted. By harnessing the winds of change.
Our existing port operations at Tanjong Pagar, Brani, Keppel and Pasir Panjang terminals will be reinvented into a consolidated mega-port — the Next Generation Port (NGP) — at Tuas, in a space that is twice the size of Ang Mo Kio town. The Tuas Port is expected to be the world’s largest container terminal upon completion in the 2040s, designed to increase productivity, optimise land-use, improve safety and security, and enhance sustainability.
The massive NGP will meet future needs for mega-alliances in the maritime industry, able to accommodate mega-vessels with much more containers. Quantitatively, this means 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually, double our current capacity. Tuas is also a far superior location because it enjoys proximity to major domestic industrial areas and international shipping routes, bringing new shipping opportunities.
The NGP would amplify the use of cutting-edge port technologies in vessel traffic management, regulatory transactions and port operations, including automating wharf-side and yard operations. Technology innovations include unmanned vehicles, drones, data analytics and driverless trucks for port transport, combined with digital platforms designed to reduce port congestion and bureaucracy. Our port workers would progress upwards towards the latest competencies and skills.
As PM Lee mentioned at the official opening of Tuas Port, the ongoing NGP formation is “a project every Singaporean can be proud of”. Pressing on with the NGP despite the pandemic sends a strong signal to the world that Singapore is open for business and going full steam ahead. Singapore's position as a global maritime hub comes not just from our geographical advantage, but the result of bold vision, national determination, and assiduous planning.
🔗: Connecting to the World: Singapore as a Hub Port
🔗: Size matters: inside the Tuas Mega Port project in Singapore