Korean firm clinches deal to build integrated bus-train depot

Singapore

THE S$1.99 billion job to build a multi-storey rail-and-bus depot has been awarded to South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction Corp.

The East Coast Integrated Depot and its reception tunnels will be the world's first four-in-one facility, integrating train depots for three MRT lines and a bus depot within a 36-hectare site, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The depots for the East-West Line (EWL), Downtown Line (DTL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will be stacked, with the bus depot located next to them.

The facility will house around 220 trains and 550 buses.

LTA said this land integration would save 44 ha of land, an area the size of 60 football fields.

GS Engineering is now building the Fort Canning and Tampines East stations for the DTL3, and the Woodlands Interchange station on the TEL.

LTA awarded three other civil contracts, collectively worth S$1.31 billion; these were for the construction of Siglap and Bayshore stations along the TEL and Xilin station along Downtown Line 3 Extension (DTL3e).

The S$176 million job to build the Siglap station was awarded to subsidiaries of China Communication Construction Company, namely, John Holland Pty Ltd and Zhen Hua (Singapore) Engineering Pte Ltd. John Holland is an established Australian contractor recently acquired by CCC International Holding Ltd, and Zhen Hua is a contractor with overseas transit experience, mainly in China.

John Holland is also in a joint venture with Leighton Contractors (Asia) Pte Ltd for works on the TEL's Springleaf station.

The construction of Bayshore station and its associated tunnels has been awarded to a Woh Hup (Private) Ltd-Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd joint venture at a contract sum of S$296 million.

The S$834 million job to build Xilin station and its associated tunnels, as well as the reception tunnels for the depot, has been awarded to South Korean's Samsung C&T Corp.

Construction works for these four civil contracts are expected to start by the second quarter. Siglap and Bayshore stations are targeted for completion in 2023; Xilin station and the East Coast Integrated Depot will be completed a year after.

Together with Marine Parade, Marine Terrace and Tanjong Rhu stations, Bayshore and Siglap stations will serve as Civil Defence shelters along the East Coast stretch of TEL.