Hyundai Engineering & Construction has successfully launched Caisson 227, a structure the size of a 12-story building that will play a critical role in Singapore’s Tuas Finger 3 reclamation project, the company said Sunday.

A caisson is a hollow concrete structure that is used in the foundation of a bridge, breakwater or wharf. The 29-meter Caisson 227 will have its own 20,000-ton floating dock, increasing construction efficiency, Hyundai E&C said.

The launch of Caisson 227 signals more potential deals with Singapore for Hyundai E&C, the company said.

Hyundai E&C clinched a $1.1 billion deal in February 2018 to work on the 387 hectare Tuas Finger 3 reclamation site, for which construction is slated for completion in March 2027. Hyundai E&C has a 35 percent stake in the project, in which other participants include Japan’s Penta-Ocean Construction and the Netherlands’ Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V.

The launch ceremony for Hyundai E&C’s Caisson 227 was attended by Lam Pin Min, Singapore’s senior minister of state within the Ministry of Transport; Quah Ley Hoon, chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore; and Ahn Young-jip, the South Korean ambassador to Singapore.

Since taking part in its first Singaporean reclamation project on Pulau Tekong Island in 1981, Hyundai E&C has signed 85 deals in the country worth a total of $14.3 billion.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)