SINGAPORE: Singapore
is offering a US$1 million cash prize for a global challenge in a bid
to find the best new design for the next generation of container ports.
Announcing
this on Wednesday at a maritime forum at Fusionopolis, Minister for
Transport Lui Tuck Yew said the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) and
the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will be organising
the "Next Generation Container Port Challenge" in April next year.
He
said those in the industry would know that the basic design of a
container port has remained largely unchanged for decades - a simple
plot of land with stacks of containers surrounded by cranes to lift
boxes on and off ships.
He added while there have been some improvements in port technologies, these have been mostly incremental changes.
On the demand side, Mr Lui said, things have changed much more dramatically with container ships carrying more loads per trip.
Safety,
security and the need to put in place environmentally-sustainable
practices are also putting more demands on port infrastructure.
He said these are presenting real challenges for land-scarce Singapore.
Mr
Lui said Singapore wants to source ideas from the brightest and the
best from all over the world through the "Next Generation Container Port
Challenge".
"We want them not only to think out of the box, but around and even ahead of the box!" Mr Lui said.
The winning concept is expected to embody innovation, efficiency, productivity and sustainability.
More details will be announced closer to the launch of the challenge.
- CNA/wk