Singapore builds the largest megaport on the planet with 448 underwater concrete blocks weighing 15,000 tons, creates 681 hectares of land in the sea, and prepares an automated terminal capable of handling 65 million containers per year with AI and 450-meter mega ships.

In total, the two stages add up to 448 underwater concrete structures and create 681 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea, a dimension considered one of the largest coastal interventions ever carried out in Singapore.

Artificial intelligence and automation change the port’s routine

From the beginning, Tuas Port was conceived as a highly digitized terminal, with automated vehicles, electrified cranes, and integrated systems to coordinate cargo circulation in real-time.

In practice, containers are expected to be transported by autonomous vehicles between the berths and the yards, while the cranes will be operated remotely from the complex’s control center.

To support this operational model, the infrastructure includes a private 5G network, connected sensors, and platforms capable of gathering logistical, operational, and maritime information in a single digital environment.

According to local authorities, the aim of automation is to increase productivity, reduce emissions, and direct workers to activities of greater technical specialization within the port sector.

Megaport will have 66 berths and more than 1,300 hectares

When all four phases are completed, Tuas Port is expected to occupy about 1,337 hectares, an area equivalent to approximately 3,300 football fields, according to estimates released by local authorities.

The plan includes 66 berths distributed along 26 kilometers, prepared to receive some of the largest container ships currently used on global maritime trade routes.

Although the structure has been designed for large vessels, there is no official confirmation in the consulted documents about specific operations with ships 450 meters in length.

The projection of 65 million TEUs annually far exceeds the current volume handled by Singapore, which recorded 44.66 million TEUs in 2025, according to data released by the country’s port authority.

Old port areas will make way for new neighborhoods

The move to Tuas also changes Singapore’s urban planning, as it frees up coastal areas occupied for decades by port operations near the center.

The activities of Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, and Brani are expected to be transferred to Tuas by 2027.

Meanwhile, the operations of Pasir Panjang will be consolidated at the new port in the 2040s.

With this reorganization, strategic land in the south of the island can integrate the Greater Southern Waterfront, an urban redevelopment plan aimed at housing, commerce, services, and leisure.

The logic is to concentrate heavy logistics in an area more suitable for port expansion and, at the same time, return valued spaces to urban development.

Maritime strategy broadens Singapore’s global importance

Singapore relies on its strategic position between trade routes of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East to maintain relevance in global maritime transport.

The Tuas Port integrates this strategy by combining physical capacity, digitalization, and connection with nearby industrial districts, such as Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District, and Tuas Industrial District.

The port is also part of a broader sustainability agenda, with electrified equipment, buildings with lower energy consumption, and a goal of net-zero emissions for PSA’s operation in Tuas by 2050.

With four planned phases and total completion expected by the 2040s, the megaport transforms a coastal engineering project into a centerpiece of Singapore’s maritime economy.