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India-based IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for the implementation of an INIR675bn ($101M) road project in Bihar, India.The scope of the project involves the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Birpur-Bihpur Section of the NH-106 in the state of Bihar, under Phase-I of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). The construction firm has received the letter of acceptance from MoRTH in December 2015, but the agreement was only signed in July 2016.The project will be executed on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis and have a duration of 36 months. Work on the project will start immediately.IL&FS Engineering Services is also working on the Patna Gaya Dobhi Section of the NH-83 in Bihar for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
India-based Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has secured an INR17.49bn ($260M) contract to build two tunnels and a bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, India.Under the contract, awarded by IRCON International, HCC will be responsible for the construction of two main tunnels, the T13 and part of T14, totalling 12.8km along with parallel safety tunnels, a 200m bridge adjoining the two tunnels and a station yard at Basindadhar.HCC’s president and CEO Arun Karambelkar said: "The company is currently engaged in tunnelling works of over 280km across various sectors. Repeat orders from IRCON reflect our expertise in executing complex projects under challenging conditions."The project will be executed within 30 months.
India-based IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company has secured a letter of acceptance from Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited for the construction of Nagpur Metro Rail Project in Maharashtra, India.Under the INR5.32bn ($79M) contract, the company will be responsible for the construction of seven elevated metro stations, and three at-grade stations and viaducts.Construction on the project is set to be complete within 110 weeks.Currently, the company is executing metro rail projects in Bangalore for Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, in Gurgaon for Phase II of the Rapid Metro Rail Project (RMRG), in Kolkata for Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), and in Ahmedabad for the Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar & Ahmedabad (MEGA) Company.
Metro projects and hydropower schemes continue to drive India’s tunnelling market, and more opportunities are yet to come but challenges remain in the competitive market, Bernadette Ballantyne reports.Until the turn of the new millennium, India's tunnelling market was dominated by hydropower and irrigation tunnels, many of which meant drilling into the challenging geology of the Himalayas. "These are the toughest ground conditions in the world, closely followed by the Andes and then the Alps," says Manoj Verman, president of the Indian National Group of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) and an independent consultant on tunnelling and rock mechanics. "The geology is very varied.It is not uncommon to encounter weak zones, shear zones, fault zones and water in the same path," he says noting that the high overburden stresses from the mountain can also cause problems. Combined with the inaccessible nature of some of the locations and the climatic extremes that include snow and flash flooding, working conditions are inhospitable at best and impossible at worst. It is clear to see why projects here are so challenging.Early TBM hurdlesDealing with the hard and changeable Himalayan rock has traditionally been a drill and blast affair, but the use of tunnel boring machine (TBM) appears to be gaining momentum despite an inauspicious start. "In mountainous regions TBMs have been used and the first three projects were a disaster," says Verman. "There is frequently changing geology and if a TBM goes fast it can get stuck and that is a nightmare. If the height of the mountain is very high it stresses too much and if the rock is soft then it squeezes, under the same height of overburden if the rock is strong then it will burst so these two are extreme cases and they both happen under high stress."An early example of a stranded TBM was on the Dul Hasti hydropower project in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, which began preliminary construction in 1985 and became operational in 2007. Shear zones regularly crossed the 9.64km head race tunnel alignment and water seepage was high leading to tunnel roof collapses that eventually buried the TBM, leaving it beyond salvation.Better progressHowever there have been some more positive breakthroughs. In June 2014 contractor and TBM manufacturer Seli announced that it had completed 14.7km of tunnelling on the Kishanganga hydropower project in Kashmir, mainly for construction of the 12km headrace tunnel. Revealing average rates of over 400m per month and a maximum of 816m in a single month, the scheme has been widely recognised as a huge breakthrough for mechanised tunnelling in the Himalayas. "This tunnel was a tremendous success," says Verman pointing to other forthcoming schemes that are planning to use TBMs. Client THDC India has appointed Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) to use a TBM for delivery of a 10m diameter, 12km long head race tunnel for the 444MW Vishnugad-Pilpakoti hydropower scheme in Chamoli in the state of Uttarakhand. The TBM is scheduled for delivery and assembly on site in February 2016.Long awaited success in the mountains combined with a huge demand for TBMs to build a growing number of city wide metro schemes, means that TBM manufacturers are upbeat about the prospects. TBM manufacturer Robbins established its Indian subsidiary in New Delhi in 2005."We started by supplying 10m double shield TBMs to contractors for an irrigation water supply tunnel which is 43km long. It would be the world's longest tunnel without intermediate access once completed," says Kapil Bhati, general manager for Robbins India, noting that the company's 10m-diameter machines are the largest in operation in India today. "The tunnel will take the water from a river and then over to a drought affected areas irrigating 500,000 hectares of land and further providing drinking water. We have completed around 25km as of now with two TBMs. We are still continuing and expected to complete 2.5 years from now," he says.Of course such a huge job has not been without its challenges and although boring of the outlet began in 2007 access to the inlet end was not available until 2011 due to land acquisition issues."After that advancements were pretty good even with geology being more difficult than anticipated. We are still doing around 300m/month average on each side of the tunnel so the production average is good in spite of the hard rock and tough geology," says Bhati.Another water tunnel transferring flows from the same river, is also underway using a third Robbins 10m-diameter machine. The tunnel is half way through with three years to go, says Bhati. A fourth 10m-diameter machine is also building a 12km water transfer tunnel.Metro growthAs these schemes roll on, Robbins has also been busy supplying and supporting machines for metros in India's bustling cities. "Soon after the irrigation tunnels the metro projects started," says Bhati and the company began by supplying machines to Delhi and then Chennai. "Delhi Metro was totally soft ground so we supplied a spoke type of earth pressure balance (EPB) machine. Those machines performed very well and had very good advance rates."The geology of Chennai is mainly soft but there are a couple of areas where there is rock or mixed ground and then we have supplied a mixed face EPB machine for that geology," he says."The result has been a more challenging bore in Chennai with rock at the bottom and soft ground at the top combined with ingress of water. Cutter changes and interventions were challenging but we have still been successful. There are around 200m left to bore."In Jaipur which is currently building the first phase of its metro starting with a 12km east-west connection, 2.8km of which are underground, the company met with soft ground. "The contractor had two old Robbins machines in stock so we refurbished those machines for the contractor and those are being used. The main challenge here is the heritage structures over the top. It is an old city," he says noting that in the areas where the metro transitions from elevated to underground there is just 5m of cover and yet the marginal tolerance is just 1mm.Tip of the icebergThese are just the tip of the metro iceberg. "Right now there are metros being built in New Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta and Bangalore. Elevated and underground both," says Sanjib Bhattacharya, chief of TBM tunnelling at ITD Cementation India, which is comprised of Italian Thai Development Public Company Limited with the Indian branch of the UK's Cementation. In his 22 years with the company Bhattacharya has delivered 50km of traditional tunnelling with NATM and 21km of TBM routes. "We just completed 7km of TBM tunnelling in Delhi. I was the project manager and out of 7km there were four EPB TBMs, two mixed shield and two soil all from Herrenknecht. In Delhi out of 36 machines, some 19 were Herrenknecht," he says. The Delhi metro is now undertaking its third phase of construction which will result in a further 160km of new lines 54km of which are underground. At its peak in mid-2014 there were 26 TBMs working simultaneously. The tunnelling is over 80% complete as Tunnels and Tunnelling goes to press and has not been without its challenges. Bhattacharya says that one particularly tough section was a 1.25km drive that ran beneath Delhi airport's runway for a distance of 400m meaning that the contractor was not able to carry out geotechnical investigations."This was very unpredictable because the geological data was not there. We designed our machine cutterheads and cutting tools on the basis of available geological parameters. It was around rock, we encountered quartzitic rock of around 200-210Mpa. Very, very hard. So in accordance with that we designed our machine to 250MPa. But unfortunately when we entered the airport area where the survey was not possible we encountered 350MPA," says Bhattacharya. As a result the construction costs ballooned from USD 14 to USD 15 per metre to around USD 35 as the hard rock quickly ate up the cutters. "It was a huge cost and meant that we were only getting four or five metres per day."As a result progress on this section was two to three months behind schedule, says Bhattacharya, however he points out that better progress on another drive where they avoided the rock and used the soil EPB machine made back the time.Despite having taken cores every 50m the nature of the airport site prevented investigation in this area and Bhattacharya says that the client accepted this when the contractor made a claim for the additional costs. "In India contracts are very rigid. 400m survey was not possible so we put a claim in and this was (logically) accepted by DMRC as the data couldn't be got in advance."Critical geological dataAs this experience shows, obtaining geological data is critical for any tunnelling project and is an area where Verman says that clients themselves need to put in more effort in the planning stages if they want to see their projects succeed. "The biggest lesson I would offer clients is 'please investigate more'. What is absolutely lacking in the country is proper site investigation or geotechnical investigation before the project," he says pointing to a World Bank study which he led five years ago which reached the same conclusion. "In state of the art projects 3–5% of cost is spent on investigations but in India it is not even 0.5%. People always say they have had geological surprises. They are surprises because they are not investigating. That is the biggest lesson that should be learned.""I fully agree," says Bhati. "There is hardly any sufficient data available before the tendering process commences. We understand regarding areas which have the limitations like Himalayas wherein the cover above the TBM is as high as 1 to 2km. On the other hand, water transfer tunnel projects or metro projects have the accessibility of lands which clients want to cut short by not providing the proper information or doing proper geographical mapping which results in the award of the tender to the contractor as it is," he says."The contractor in turn has to gather that information by himself which takes time therefore delaying the project and losing more time. Better and earlier information on geological details allows the manufacturers to design the machines and give them provisions to equip the machine to encounter all the problems in front."One of the side effects of this is that projects are less attractive to international contractors who are not prepared to take the risks pushed onto the contractors under the design and build arrangements. "For the time being, due to aggressive local competition and actual contract versions comprising unacceptable risks for the contractor, we refrain from tendering for tunnel projects in India," a spokesperson for contractor Strabag says.Yet ironically clients are demanding that international firms participate in main contracts. "Indian clients are putting a condition [in place] that the tunnelling manager must be an expert from outside of India," says Bhattacharya who says that the international financing provided to the metros also pushes for European consultants to be involved."It is true that they have more experience than us but the fact is that we are building experience. I have a team now running four TBMs simultaneously and now I am looking at Mumbai and Kolkata. We have the resources. Only problem is that the Indian companies don't have the technical credentials so they can't pass the technical bids so that is why we are making JVs."However he says that this is changing and that for smaller bores of 1-2km Indian contractors are wining projects without international partners. Another advantage that local firms have is their proximity to clients and their long term market positions which mean that local companies are more willing to accept delayed payments through claims. International firms however see this as too risky.One way of reducing risk, says Bhati is to have the TBM manufacturer support the project through its life, not just at the beginning. "Most of the time delays are because manufacturers are not supporting the project and the contractor is not capable of coping with the difficult geology. On most of the jobs what we are doing we are supporting them on execution on a per metre basis," he says.This strategy has been particularly important to the Bangalore metro for which delays have been widely reported in the local media. Mumbai Metro Line three"On Mumbai Metro there are seven packages and we got package four," says Bhattacharya whose firm ITD Cementation are in joint venture with Continental Engineering Corporation of Taiwan and Tata Projects. Financial bids were opened in October and Tunnels and Tunnelling International understands that the client Mumbai Metro Railway Corporation is currently scrutinising the project budget which is lower than the forecast costs. One of the major issues which will be faced in the execution of metro tunnels in Mumbai city will certainly be the rock strata which will push up the tunnelling costs. The entire 32.5km line is underground."Geological survey suggests 90% rock which will vary from 50 to 150MPa," says Bhati who has first-hand knowledge.Contracts for this line are yet to be signed . Other MetrosMumbai may be the next major project set for award but there are many more on the horizon. "Phase four of Delhi is coming with 90km of tunnelling. Bangalore phase one is about to complete and phase two is coming next year. Chennai phase three coming next year. Kolkata has another two underground packages coming," says Bhattacharya also pointing to forthcoming schemes in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad and Puna."The market is very promising perhaps one of the best in the world at this time, says Verman. "Now is the time that the country has to start moving into delivering infrastructure in difficult areas. Many projects are already sanctioned but procedures are such that they are not tumbling out in the way that we expected. However remain very optimistic. I am expecting 2016 to be a crowded year."Data from the Timetric Construction Intelligence Center places the value of work underway with a tunnelling element at USD 31bn however given the scale of projects planned — Verman says there are 3,000km of tunnels in the pipeline, the figure seems likely to rise substantially over the next five years."I was involved in planning a railway through the Himalayas from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag, 125km long alignment of which 105km is in tunnels so that is the kind of project you are looking at and for this kind of distance you have to use TBMs, especially for the longer tunnels," he says.Bhati of Robbins points to four main growth areas for the TBM tunnelling market. "We have hydropower projects in the pipeline which we see being awarded in 2016 and a couple of them will be using heavy provision of TBM. Then the metros like Mumbai which will be awarded in the next few months.Bangalore and Chennai are planning phase two. Seeing the success of Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai everyone sees that it is the best solution possible. For the next 10-15 years one city after the other will keep having metros come up," he says.Water transfer tunnels to divert much needed resources is also a priority, as are road tunnels. "These are the future. People have realised that there is limited space available above ground so we have to go under. There is a 22km underground tunnel in Mumbai which is going to come from the southernmost part of the city through the coast to the airport. It is entirely underground and will be about 12m diameter, and has now been approved.”Learning from the pastExpectations are therefore high for India's growing and maturing tunnelling industry, but challenges remain and Verman urges government to learn from the past in terms of better planning and reducing bureaucracy so that contractors are able to get on and deliver. "There are huge projects coming forward and government should support this industry and nurture it because it is in the government's interest that these projects are built.”
Leighton Contractors Asia in a joint venture with China State Construction Engineering Hong Kong has won an AUD1.58bn ($1.19bn) contract for the construction of Tseung Kwan O—Lam Tin Tunnel in Hong Kong.The contract, awarded by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, will include the construction of a 2.2km two‐lane highway tunnel together with associated slip roads, branch tunnels, viaducts and tunnel portal facilities.The works will also involve the delivery of two ventilation buildings and an administration building, as well as implementation of all associated building and supporting works.CIMIC Group’s executive chairman and CEO Marcelino Fernández Verdes said: “Delivering large infrastructure projects in busy urban areas is a core capability for Leighton Asia.“We value the opportunity to contribute our civil engineering capabilities to accommodate future growth through the expansion of infrastructure in such a fast growing city.”Leighton Asia’s managing director Manuel Alvarez Munoz said: “Leighton Asia has developed strong working relationships with both our JV partner, China State, and with our client, the Hong Kong government.“Through continued delivery of infrastructure that enhances Hong Kong’s transport systems, we are in a good position for future work.”Construction will begin in July 2016 and take about five years to complete.
Indian multi-national conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has started work on Mumbai Metro Line 3 project.The project, valued at INR52.7bn ($781.8M), will be carried by the heavy civil infrastructure business of L&T Construction in association with its partner STEC of China.Work will include design and construction of underground stations as well as associated tunnels for Package 1 and Package 7 of the development.The Package 1 will include construction of underground stations at Cuffe Parade, Vidhan Bhavan, Church Gate, Hutatma Chowk, along with associated tunnels.The Package 7 will include construction of underground stations at Marol Naka, MIDC and SEEPZ, as well as associated tunnels from International Airport to SEEPZ.L&T’s deputy managing director and president S. N. Subrahmanyan said: "This is a significant win in the heavy civil infrastructure space and we hope that this is a sign for many such projects involving vital infrastructure that are in the offing."This mandate is truly representative of our expertise in building metros as we are already building some major metro projects in India and Middle East. With the support of our partners, we are confident of delivering as per the requirements of our client."The project is scheduled for completion in 48 months.
Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) has awarded three work package contracts worth MYR1.38bn ($342.7M) to build the Sungai Buloh-Serdang Putrajaya (SSP) Line in Malaysia.The contracts include two system work packages and one advance work package.Colas Rail Consortium has been awarded MYR693.03M ($172.1M) system work package, SY205, for the engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of power supply and distribution system for the SSP Line. Sapura – EVD Consortium has won the second system work package, SY206, for the engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of communications, government integrated radio network, commercial telecom (Infra) and information technology system for the SSP Line. The contract is valued at MYR632M ($156.9M).SN Akmida Holdings has secured a MYR59.5M ($14.7M) advance work package for the construction and completion of Sungai Besi police quarters and other associated works.
India-based MBL Infrastructures has secured a road project worth INR7.79bn ($115M) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).The company will deliver the project on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis. The scope of the project will include six laning of green-field proposed Udaipur bypass road in Rajasthan.During construction, 40% of the bid project cost amounting to INR3.11bn ($45.7M) will be financed by NHAI and the remaining 60% amounting to INR4.67bn ($68.7M) will be arranged by the concessionaire.The project is expected to be operational within 15 years, starting from the commercial operation date.
India-based infrastructure firm Gayatri Projects has won an order worth INR7bn ($103.6M) from City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CDICO) for the Navi Mumbai airport.The scope of the work includes the development of land for the Mumbai International Airport Package-III project.Gayatri Projects said in a stock exchange filing: "The construction and development of airports will prove to be a major source of business for infrastructure companies, given that the Indian aviation sector is likely to see investments of over $120bn for the development of airport infrastructure and aviation navigation services over the next decade."According to the company, the project is in line with the management’s decision to follow an asset-light model and will further strengthen its position in the Indian construction market.
KTC Civil Engineering & Construction has secured a SGD418M ($311M) contract from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) for the construction of Sungei Bedok station and its associated tunnels. The new contract represents the last of nine major civil contracts for Thomson–East Coast Line (TEL) in Singapore.KTC Civil Engineering is currently involved in the construction of Downtown Line 3 (DTL3) Tampines station, as well as TEL’s Orchard Boulevard station.Sungei Bedok station, to be constructed as a civil defence shelter, will be an interchange station connecting TEL with the DTL. As part of the 43km-long TEL, the 13km East Coast stretch will also connect commuters to the Thomson stretch of the TEL, which serves the north-south corridor.The East Coast stretch, to be completed in two stages, will have nine stations, including one that will interchange with the Downtown Line at Sungei Bedok.The first seven stations from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore will be completed in 2023, while the remaining two stations will be finished in 2024.
Dragages Hong Kong has chosen Nicolas’ MGD G2 SPE modules for the transport of pre-cast bridge elements for the Hong Kong-Zhubai-Macau bridge project in China.The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge project, with an estimated cost of $10.6bn, will connect Hong Kong to Zhubai and Macau — three major cities on the Pearl River Delta.The on-going development involves the construction of an offshore bridge and tunnel, the Boundary Crossing Facilities Island and link roads.The combined 22.9km-long bridge and 6.7km-long tunnel are expected to reduce travel times from Hong Kong to Macau and Zhugai from more than three hours to half an hour.According to Nicolas the MGD G2 SPE modules to be used in the project are in use all around the world under the toughest conditions — including in salty air, dusty environments and poor underground areas.Jannick Mathieu, Nicolas’ area manager sales at TII Sales, said: “With the second generation of this proven vehicle we provide the specifications the industry needs, no matter if we are talking about the impressive bending moment, a multitude of precise steering modes or the sturdiness and long-term reliability of the Nicolas MHD G2.”
A GMR Infrastructure-led consortium has secured an INR28.8bn ($432.2M) contract for the construction of a 221km road project in India.The stretch is part of the Eastern arm of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project and will be executed on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis. The project, financed by World Bank, is split into two packages. The first package includes a 175km single line connecting Sahnewal and Pilkhani, passing through Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, while the second package is a 46km double line corridor in Uttar Pradesh connecting Dadri and Khurja.Under the contract, the consortium will be responsible for the design and construction of civil, structures and track works for single and double lines.GMR Infra said that the two packages are anticipated to be complete in 44 and 36 months respectively.
Larsen & Toubro’s construction unit has secured contracts worth INR21.61bn ($323.9M) across various business segments.The firm’s transportation infrastructure business has won an INR8.47bn ($126.9M) design and construction contract from the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India.The contract, secured by L&T and Instalaciones Inabensa consortium, includes electrification works for the 417km section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) from Mughalsarai to New Bhaupur in Uttar Pradesh, India.The work also involves the construction of seven traction sub stations, 18 switching stations, 881 track km of overhead equipment, SCADA and electrical and mechanical works along with the supply of all associated equipment. The company’s water and effluent treatment business has secured an INR7.09bn ($106.2M) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract from the Gujarat Water Infrastructure. The scope of the work includes the design and construction of 146km of mild steel pipelines and 26km of ductile iron pipelines.The business has also won a contract from Rajasthan Urban Drinking Water Sewerage & Infrastructure Corporation Limited for the design, construction and commissioning of sewage treatment plants and sewage pumping stations along with sewer networks in Alwar, Sikar and Bhiwadi, in the Rajasthan state.The company’s power transmission and distribution business has secured EPC orders worth INR4.03bn ($60.3M) from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited for the construction of a 400kV double circuit transmission line package from Tumkur to Hiryur in Karnataka.The business also won a contract from Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Limited for the construction of 220/66kV substations along with the associated transmission line network.Additional contracts worth INR2.02bn ($30.2M) were awarded to the company’s metallurgical and material handling business from various ongoing jobs of this business.
Russian real estate development company LSR Group has begun construction on a new tram network in Krasnogvardeysky, St. Petersburg.The corresponding concession agreement was inked between the government of Saint Petersburg and Transportnaya Kontsessionnaya Kompaniya, a joint venture of LSR Group and Leader Investment Company. The overall project, including the upgrading of existing lines and the construction of a new tram network and its operation over the period of 30 years, is expected to cost RUB32.7bn ($488.6M).In particular, the construction and maintenance of the tram network will require an investment of RUB12.7bn ($189.7M).Construction work is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) has awarded four work package contracts worth MYR4.2bn (about $1bn) for the construction of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line in Malaysia. The contracts include two viaduct and two systems work packages.MRT Corp has awarded the MYR1.62bn ($401.6M) Systems Work Package SY203 to HAP Consortium for the engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of electric trains and depot equipment for the SSP Line. A consortium of Bombardier (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Global Rail Sdn Bhd has won the second systems work package, Package SY201, valued at MYR458.02M ($113.5M) and covering the engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the signalling and train control system for the SSP Line. IJM Construction has secured Work Package V203 worth MYR1.47bn ($364.4M) for the construction of the 4.6km viaduct guideway and other associated works from Jinjang to Jalan Ipoh North Portal.Malaysian Resources Corporation has won Work Package V210 valued at MYR648M ($160.6M) for the construction and completion of the 2.6km viaduct guideway and other associated works from Persiaran APEC, Cyberjaya to Putrajaya Sentral.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore has awarded two civil contracts worth about SGD334m ($248.8m) for the construction of Amber and Bedok South stations in Singapore. Woh Hup Limited has secured a SGD146m ($108.7m) contract for the construction of Amber station, while the Bedok South Station and associated tunnels were awarded to China Jingye Engineering Corporation Limited in a contract worth SGD188m ($140m).Bedok South station will serve as the sixth Civil Defence shelter along the East Coast stretch of Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).The 13km-long East Coast stretch of the 43km-long TEL will connect commuters living in the eastern parts of Singapore who are not directly served by the rail network, such as those in Tanjong Rhu, Siglap, Marine Parade, Upper East Coast and Bedok South.The East Coast stretch will have nine stations, including a station that interchanges with the Downtown Line at Sungei Bedok.The project will be completed in two stages, with the first seven stations, from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore, expected to be ready in 2023 and the remaining two due to be completed in 2024.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has broken ground on the Metro Rail Transit 7 (MRT-7) project in the Philippines.The elevated railway from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan will be constructed by SMC’s infrastructure subsidiary San Miguel.Estimated to cost PHP69.3bn ($1.49bn), the 23km project will feature 14 stations and take 30 minutes to travel end-to-end. It will also link to the MRT-3 and LRT-1 and serve more than 800,000 passengers daily.MRT-7 will have stations at Quezon-North Avenue, Quezon Memorial Circle, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala and San Jose del Monte.The project will be completed in three to four years with the assistance of Hyundai Rotem and EEI consortium.
Indian construction firm MBL Infrastructures has secured two road development projects worth INR21.3bn ($320m) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.NHAI awarded the projects on a DBFOT (design-build-finance-operate-transfer) hybrid annuity basis.Construction period for both the projects is stipulated at 730 days. During construction, 40% of the bid project cost will be funded by NHAI and the remaining 60% will be arranged by the concessionaire.
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), a wing of the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry of Bangladesh, plans to build four underground railways across Dhaka in a bid to mitigate traffic congestion.The cost of the first two railways is estimated to be $8.14bn.According to the proposal, a 32km-long subway will connect Sayedabad with Tongi, via Airport, Banani, Mohakhali, Moghbazar, Paltan and Motijheel, at a cost of $5.265bn. It will later be extended to Arranging. The second subway, totalling a distance of 16km, will connect Aminbazar with Sayedabad. The proposed route will go through Gabtoli to Shyamoli, Asadgate, Newmarket, Tsc and Motijheel and will cost $2.87bn.Planning for the third and fourth routes is still in a development stage. These will connect Gabtoli with Sadarghat, and Rampura with Sadarghat, respectively.
MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) (MGKT) has won a MYR15.47bn ($4bn) contract from Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) for an Underground Works Package for the MRT Sungai BulohSerdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line in Malaysia.The SSP Line is 52.2km in length, of which 13.5km will run underground. It will have 37 stations, including 11 underground stations.The Underground Works Package involves the design, construction and completion of tunnels, underground stations and associated structures such as portals and escape shafts for the SSP Line’s 13.5km underground alignment from the Jalan lpoh North Escape Shaft to the Desa Waterpark South Portal.MRT Corp CEO Dato’ Sri Shahril Mokhtar said MGKT had a proven track record in carrying out tunnelling and other underground works in the challenging geology of the Klang Valley. “The working relationship between MRT Corp and MGKT began with the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line. This good relationship can now continue with the SSP Line.”
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