The little country building the world's biggest mega-port - and it's going to cost £10bn

A 16-mile-long port will become the largest in the world when it is completed in this small Asian country. One of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the world at the moment. The Tuas Mega Port in Singapore will cost around £10 billion once it opens. The project is already underway and is expected to be completed by the 2040s. The project promises to be a greener and smarter port compared to others around the world.

The world's largest port is currently located in Shanghai, China, but will be outranked once the Tuas Meg Port in Singapore opens fully. The new port will have a handling capacity for 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), says the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). It will cover a total area of 1,337 hectares, which is around 3,300 football fields, with 66 berths in total spanning 26 kilometres.

"Tuas Port, together with Singapore's International Maritime Centre, will form a strong value proposition and ensure Maritime Singapore remains trusted, resilient, and ready for the future," says MPA.

The project is to be completed in four phases. It took six years to complete the first phase, which wrapped up in 2021. Currently, the second phase is underway as new berths have already opened.

Once the Tuas Mega Port opens completely, the two older ports there will be closed. Additionally, 1,000 battery-powered driverless vehicles and another 1,000 automated yard cranes are to be used to complete the port.

Plans are in place for the port to reach net zero emissions by 2050 by integrating sustainable technologies, such as electrified equipment, over machines powered by fossil fuels.

The construction of this mega project has involved deepening the surrounding seabed to allow for further growth. Former Transport Minister for Singapore S. Iswaran said after the completion of the first phase: "With more ships calling here (as a result of the larger capacity), Singapore will enjoy even stronger maritime connectivity. We can harness network effects to import and export more quickly and at a lower cost.

"As a global hub, Tuas Port will bring even more value to companies in our international maritime centre and create more jobs for our people."

Singapore is a small but mighty country in Southeast Asia. The city-state spans 284.1 square miles and is home to close to 6 million people.

It is the 176th largest country in the world, a considerably small place that is made up of a main island and smaller surrounding islands. Despite this, it is the 4th richest country in the world, according to Global Finance.

Although it is among the smallest countries in the world, it has the 30th largest economy, ranking higher than nations like Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Africa, and New Zealand.