Tuas Terminal Phase 1

Reclamation for Tuas Terminal Phase 1 was completed in November 2021, marking a significant milestone for Singapore’s ambitious move to consolidate the container terminals and double the current container handling capacity to 65 million TEUs annually when all four phases are completed.

Surbana Jurong’s Coastal Engineering team is the appointed consultant for the planning and engineering design as well as the supervision of the construction. This includes project management, contract administration and site supervision for this mega project which entailed soil improvement works for 414 hectares of land, including 294 hectares measuring 412 football fields of newly reclaimed land; the fabrication and installation of 221 10-storey tall caissons each weighing 15,000 tons to form 8.6km of seawall; and deepening of sea beds to cater for larger ships of the future.

As a key pillar in Singapore’s Next Generation Container Port, the planned relocation of the City Terminals and Pasir Panjang Terminal to the west will free up 325 and 600 hectares of waterfront land respectively and present huge redevelopment opportunities.

The Tuas Terminal is an engineering feat with many innovative features that increases productivity, optimises land use, and enhances sustainability. For instance, the design includes the re-use of dredged and excavated materials as reclamation fill materials which results in significant material cost savings of some $1 billion. The use of innovative caisson design for the wharf structures also helps to improve productivity and quality as the caissons are of standard sizes and pre-fabricated in a controlled environment on site. Finger piers with caisson quay walls were used to maximise the limited land and sea space.