DEME STARTS PHASE 1 OF TUAS TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT
Work on Phase 1 of the Tuas Terminal in Singapore was formerly started on April 29 with the launching of the first caisson by Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan. This marked the start of the contract for the construction of the first phase of a new $1.82 billion mega-port in Singapore. The contract was awarded in May 2015 by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to a joint venture between Dredging International Asia Pacific Ltd. (DIAP) a subsidiary of Belgium’s DEME Group incorporated in Singapore and DAELIM Industrial Co. Ltd. headquartered in Seoul Korea a global developer and contractor.
Officially known as the Tuas Terminal Phase 1 Reclamation Wharf Construction and Dredging Project the project involves the construction of a new port terminal with 21 deep-water berths that will have a total capacity of 20 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year. The DIAP-DAELIM Joint Venture is responsible for the construction of an 8.6-kilometer (5.3 miles) quay wall and its foundation dredging the Tuas Basin and Temasek Fairway and the reclamation of 294 hectares (726 acres) of new land.
The contractor reports it will use innovative techniques that increase efficiency and safety. For example the wharf structure will be built using caissons instead of piling. This is a more efficient method of construction since the caissons are standard sizes and will be pre-fabricated on-site. In total more than 200 caissons standing 28 meters (almost 92 feet) high are being used to build the quay wall which will contain the reclamation materials and create the permanent wharf structure.
The DIAP-DAELIM joint venture will also employ state-of-the-art equipment including an extremely large clamshell dredge and a powerful cutter suction dredge. The dredged material will be treated with modern soil improvement techniques so that it can be reused as reclamation fill material for the project. Reusing such materials instead of disposing of them reduces the quantity of sand fill required for reclamation is environmentally sound and results in a considerable cost savings.
According to the Singaporean Ministry of Transport the development of the Tuas Terminal signals the government’s commitment to ensuring the future of the Singapore as a major inter-national port. Tuas Terminal will be developed in four phases over a span of 30 years with Phase 1 scheduled for completion in the early 2020s. Ultimately the entire mega-port will have a total capacity of up to 65 million TEUs.
