Tuas Port Phase 1 Reclamation Project gets Engineering Award Nod

For the engineering innovations behind the Tuas Port Phase 1 (TPP1) Reclamation, Wharf Construction & Dredging Project, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and project partners were awarded the 2022 World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) H.J. Sabbagh Prize for Excellence in Engineering Construction.

Key design innovations included large-scale reuse of recyclable materials such as dredged seabed material and land-excavated materials, which accounted for more than half of the reclamation fill for TPP1. The reclamation filling, which included clay, was treated to ensure stability of the reclaimed land is within the stringent limits for operating the driverless automated guided vehicles.  

The stability of the reclamation fill is maintained using 10 story-high caissons as earth-retaining walls. These caissons also form the foundations of Tuas port and wharf structures for vessels to berth alongside. The caissons were fabricated at a nearby casting yard, towed out to sea, and submerged on the prepared foundation in the seabed.

In total, 221 caissons were used for the reclamation of TPP1 and the deep-water berths will be capable of accommodating future container ships with a draft of up to 21m. In addition, MPA, as the port planner, designed Tuas Port as finger-piers so that the linear wharf layout maximizes the land-sea space while providing flexibility for ships with different lengths to berth.

TPP1 was built five meters above mean sea level to adapt to rising sea levels. Dredged hard rocks beneath the seabed were reused for shore protection and reclamation fill to enhance resource circularity.

“Developed in four phases, Tuas Port will be a fully automated port," said Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive of MPA. "As a greenfield site, Tuas Port offers opportunities for innovation, enhancing energy and operational efficiency so that we can deliver a port which will continue to secure Singapore’s connectivity to the world and its future as global trading hub port.”