SINGAPORE - The $3.5 billion Phase 3 and 4 expansion of Pasir Panjang Terminal was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday.

The expansion - comprising the currently operational Pasir Panjang Terminal 5 and two future terminals that will be operational by the end of 2017 - will add 15 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to Singapore's handling capacity.

This will boost Singapore's container throughput by 40 per cent to 50 million TEUs every year. The quay length of the Phase 3 and Phase 4 expansions will be almost 6,000 metres with 15 berths.

Besides being able to handle the megaships of the future, the new terminals will also have a container yard with automated rail-mounted gantry cranes. These cranes stack containers with the help of computers, sensors and cameras. They are electrically-powered and have zero emissions.

PM Lee in his speech on Tuesday said the new berths will allow PSA to better serve mega-sized container ships and make Singapore's port even more efficient.

He noted that in the long term PSA's operations will be consolidated into a mega-terminal in Tuas.

This will raise Singapore's handling capacity to 65mil TEUs annual, almost double what moved through the port last year.

The new mega-terminal will also use advanced technology to fundamentally change the way the port is run including the use of data analytics, autonomous vehicles and green technology.

This will sharpen our efficiency, reliability and competitive edge, said PM Lee.

At Tuesday's event, PM Lee also paid tribute to the pioneer employees of the port including Mr Martin Verghese, 71, who was the among the pioneer group of quay crane operators and Mr Toh Kok Tia, 70, who was a work supervisor when the first container vessel, M.V. Nihon, called at Singapore from Rotterdam, Netherlands.