Tuas project will alleviate demand for scarce waterfront land in the west
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 18 Jan 10;
DEVELOPMENT of an offshore marine centre at Tuas View looks set to start soon.
The offshore marine base will help alleviate rising demand for scarce waterfront land in the west.
The 12-hectare project, with a common wharf and jetty, is meant to accommodate at least 10 offshore support and marine companies. It forms part of a larger development of the hockey-stick shaped Tuas View Extension site in the west into Singapore's next major port area.
JTC Corporation has just called a tender for an accredited checking organisation to carry out professional services including evaluating, analysing and reviewing the project's structural design.
A JTC spokeswoman said that the corporation is currently doing detailed engineering design on the marine centre, but did not specify when this would be completed. Following that, a tender for the main engineering, procurement and construction contract, is likely to be called.
JTC earlier indicated that the marine base could be ready by the first quarter of 2011, and the spokeswoman added that the project 'is on track'.
According to the latest tender document, the offshore marine base will comprise a 320-metre long wharf including a mooring dolphin (a cluster of pilings to which boats or barges can tie up) and access decks at both ends of the wharf.
Three areas of the 30-metre wide wharf will also be designed for 500-ton mobile crane operations. The base will also have a two-storey central operations building, with an electrical sub-station.
There has been rising demand for waterfront land, especially in the west. There used to be an offshore supply base at Shipyard Road in Jurong which has since closed and all the offshore supply facilities there relocated to Loyang Offshore Supply Base in the east.
Also coming up at Tuas View Extension is Sembcorp Marine's new massive integrated yard - with the first phase 73.3-ha development expected to be completed by 2013.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is also doing soil investigation and seismic surveys in the area - reinforcing market talk of a relocation in the medium to long-term of Singapore's port operations in the city centre to the west.
