Singapore authorities – already presiding over the world’s most vibrant maritime hub – today outlined what else they will be doing to develop the city-state’s shipping cluster.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a release today it will strengthen the connectivity and inter-linkages of Singapore’s maritime cluster, building a vibrant innovation ecosystem and develop a future-ready and skilled maritime workforce. MPA will also enhance and top up the Maritime Cluster Fund (MCF) by S$100m.
Besides encouraging existing players to set up new business activities, MPA will promote the growth of non-traditional players such as maritime technology enterprises like Alpha Ori and Metcore. MPA will also co-fund the cost of shared workspaces and services to encourage expertise and resource sharing between maritime companies. In the longer term, to foster collaboration and co-innovation across maritime and other related sectors such as logistics, MPA, terminal operator PSA and other government agencies will experiment with concepts such as intermodal logistics and explore the setting up of a port and logistics cluster at Tuas, the site of the republic’s new port under construction.
“Digitalisation and automation are rapidly changing the competitive landscape of many industries, including port and shipping. To ride on the emerging technologies and develop future capabilities and solutions, MPA will launch the Maritime Transformation Programme (MTP) and set up the Singapore Maritime Data Hub (SG-MDH) to build an enabling ecosystem that fosters innovation and R&D in the maritime sector,” MPA stated in a release.
“With its focus on automating and digitalising port and shipping operations, and enhancing maritime safety and security, the MTP will be pivotal in driving industry transformation – making our port smarter and safer, and our international maritime centre more competitive,” commented senior minister of state for transport and health Dr Lam Pin Min today.
A comprehensive look at how Singapore is planning its shipping future is carried in the latest issue of Maritime CEO magazine which Splash readers can access by clicking here.
