In 1819 Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore by establishing it as a trading post. Singapore is a tiny island nation with no natural resources, no farmland and now no space left to expand. The biggest thing Singapore had going for it was location.  It is right beside the Strait of Malacca where 25% of global trade passes.  This made it an ideal location for a port.  However, as shipping expanded Singapore had to build multiple ports, these ports became congested and expensive to run.  Containers often had to be moved across the city from one port to another for reshipping.

Singapore had to rethink the strategy for its container port.  Many containers have been rerouted from Singapore to more efficient ports such as Shanghai in China. Christmas Night Inc’s containers no longer pass through Singapore.  So, it was sink or find a new way for its container handling.  In 2015 Singapore decided to build the Mega port of the future, one port to handle Singapore’s container shipping, bigger and better than any in the world and that is Tuas Mega Port.

It is being built on reclaimed land in the extreme west of downtown Singapore, about an hours drive through an industrial area.  Its finished size will be approximately 1,337 hectares (about 3,300 football fields).  So far only phase 1 is complete, with several of Singapore’s older ports still operating.  And it did appear to me that the Pasir Panjang Port was busier.  However, Tuas Mega Port’s advanced automation, AI driven traffic management and electric, driverless vehicles may provide an efficiency that looks smoother and less hectic.  Versatile and maneuverable electrified automated yard cranes and automated guided vehicles are managed remotely from the Tuas Port Control Center.Automation creates concern that technology will take away manual  jobs but it also creates the demand for more port operators and marine engineers who are tech-savvy and ready for the future while current maritime workers can upgrade their skills and develop their careers.  Phase 2 is due to be completed next year and will provide enough berths to allow for the closing of ports at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel and Brani.By the 2040s Tuas Mega Port will replace all 5 ports in Singapore, Singapore will have reclaimed its place as the throne of trade, the center of global logistics and the master of global container routing.Housing and recreational facilities will be developed at the port for workers. And by 2050 there will be zero emissions at Tuas Port.