After a year-long renovation, the upgraded Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) at Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC) is set to support increased travel between Singapore, the Riau Islands, Indonesia, and Johor, Malaysia, with self-service kiosks and automated lanes that speed up passenger processing.
Tanah Merah is one of three ferry terminals and one cruise terminal operated by SCC, alongside its international cruise and regional ferry terminal at HarbourFront Centre, and its domestic ferry terminal at Pasir Panjang.
SCC expects up to 70 per cent of ferry passengers to use self-check-ins at TMFT’s 15 new kiosks, which will be fully deployed by the end of the year. Travellers will no longer need to queue at ferry operator counters for boarding passes; instead, they can scan their passports at the kiosks to print both boarding passes and luggage tags. Bags can then be dropped at six counters, an increase from the previous four.
The traveller experience is further enhanced in the immigration halls with the introduction of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)’s passport-less clearance initiative. Singapore residents arriving and departing, as well as all departing foreign travellers, can now clear immigration using facial and iris biometrics, eliminating the need to present their passports. With this new system, travellers can clear immigration in about 10 seconds, making the process 60 per cent faster than before.
Additionally, ICA has increased the overall clearance capacity in the immigration halls by about 50 per cent, expanding from 12 to 26 lanes for arriving passengers and from 12 to 20 lanes for departing passengers.
The upgrade at TMFT introduces new amenities, including F&B outlets like Woon’s Kopi by Killiney, Subway, Luckin Coffee, and Lepak Corner, an outdoor children’s playground, and ‘flexi’ rooms that can be converted for meetings, catering to business travellers heading to Batam or Bintan. Other additions include a prayer room and more. Inside the departure area, a new lounge will complement the existing Bintan Resorts Ferries Emerald Lounge.
SCC CEO Jacqueline Tan said: “We are pleased that the upgrade of Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal has been completed according to plan and within the projected timeline. With the seamless, contactless systems, optimised space, and new amenities, we are able to offer ferry passengers elevated user experiences. This enhances our role as a regional gateway from Singapore to Riau Islands and Malaysia, as economic growth generates higher passenger volumes in the coming years.”
