New tender for TPE-PIE Changi viaduct after OKP and LTA "mutually" terminate contract

THE LAND Transport Authority (LTA) and a unit of homegrown construction company OKP Holdings have mutually agreed to terminate a contract to build TPE-PIE Changi viaduct effectively from Monday.

A new replacement tender will be called later this month, LTA said in a media statement on Monday afternoon.

The contract termination is expected to have a negative impact on the earnings per share and net tangible assets of the company and the subsidiary, Or Kim Peow Contractors, for the current financial year ending Dec 31, OKP Holdings said in a Singapore Exchange filing.

Or Kim Peow Contractors and five people were charged in court in late May for their role in a fatal collapse of the road viaduct under construction in July 2017. This killed one worker and injured 10 others.

It has since transpired that cracks on several parts of the viaduct were discovered before the collapse.  The company had won the S$94.6 million tender in November 2015 to construct a one-way, two-lane viaduct from the Tampines Expressway to the Pan-Island Expressway and Upper Changi Road East. Together with project consultants CPG Consultants, OKP was expected to complete the viaduct and the surrounding road works in early 2020.

The replacement tender will be awarded by the fourth quarter of this year and the indicative completion date for the project is the first half of 2022, LTA said.

The replacement contractor will be responsible for completing the construction of the viaduct, including the demolition of any structures deemed unsafe.

The site will be maintained by LTA's term contractor until the replacement contractor is appointed. LTA will continue to work closely with its contractors to ensure that they comply with workplace safety and health requirements, it said. OKP last closed on July 6 at S$0.295.