LTA awards Japanese joint venture a $242m contract to build tunnels for Cross Island Line

MRT tunnels up to 40m deep will be built to connect future stations in West Coast and Jurong Lake District as part of the second phase of the Cross Island Line (CRL).

The twin bored tunnels, each measuring 2.4km in length, will run beneath Sungei Pandan canal and key infrastructure such as West Coast Highway and Ayer Rajah Expressway.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Wednesday (Jun 19) that it has awarded a S$242 million contract to a joint venture between Japanese firms Nishimatsu Construction and Okumura Corporation Singapore Branch to design and build the tunnels.

Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2024.

LTA said the tunnels to be built will surpass the usual depth of 30m for other MRT stations in Singapore, owing to the ground conditions in the area, which consist predominantly of weathered soil and hard sedimentary rock.

The authority said real-time monitoring and safety measures will be carried out during the tunnelling works, and that mitigation will be taken to ensure the ground is stable, construction is safe and the impact on nearby stakeholders and infrastructure is minimised.

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LTA said Nishimatsu Construction is currently constructing the bored tunnels between Tampines North and Defu MRT stations as part of the first phase of the CRL, and the firm has previously done tunnelling work at Keppel station on the Circle Line 6 extension and at Gardens by the Bay station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

Meanwhile, Okumura Corporation is similarly experienced in tunnelling work both locally and abroad, having worked on projects such as the national water agency PUB’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System and the airport MRT line in Taipei, LTA added.

The CRL, which is being built in phases, will be Singapore’s eighth MRT line, serving the eastern, western and north-eastern areas of Singapore.

Announced in 2019, the first phase of the fully underground line spans 29km, with 12 stations beginning with Aviation Park in Changi to Bright Hill in Sin Ming. Construction is ongoing and expected to be completed by 2030.

The 15km second phase, which comprises six stations from Turf City to Jurong Lake District, will be completed by 2032, as will a 7.3km CRL extension spanning four stops from Punggol to Pasir Ris.

Construction of the second phase of the CRL will also involve tunnelling directly underneath the Central Catchment Nature Reserve at a depth of 70m – the deepest any MRT tunnel here will go – to minimise the impact on the ecologically sensitive area. The contract for those works was awarded in 2022 to a joint venture between Obayashi Corporation and Shanghai Tunnel Engineering (Singapore).

Engineering studies for the third phase of the CRL are ongoing. This section of the line will serve the Jurong Industrial Estate and likely comprise at least four stations between Jurong and Tuas. THE STRAITS TIMES