Shani Wallis, Editor

Building new road and mass transit capacity in Singapore is a continuous programme of public investment. As one project is half way to being in service, another is ready to start construction.

Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim, had the opportunity last week to reiterate the size and scope of the 'Land Transport Masterplan' he unveiled 18 months ago. Officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Down Town Line Stage 2 (DTL2) project on Friday, 3 July), he explained that, despite the world financial turmoil and credit crunch, contracts for some Simg $50 billion of new infrastructure construction planned for 2009 to 2020, are being relentlessly pushed out, on schedule, and with the bulk of them programmed to be advertised early next year."

Delivering such a staggering public works investment - a programme that dwarfs the scope of similar public investment plans by city and state governments of other developed countries - will consume immense international construction capacity and resources. Promoting the needs and potential of Singapore's market was the mission of LTA (Land Transport Authority) delegation at the ITA meeting in Budapest in June. During the networking sessions, LTA officials were lobbying consultants and contractors alike to participate in Singapore's mammoth projects.

Currently Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, is completing the Circle Line (CCL) towards starting services in,2010. Starting from Dhoby Ghaut Station, the Sing $6.7 billion investment is a 33.3km orbital route of twin running tunnels with 29 underground stations to link the system's radial North-South, East-West and North East Lines Running through some of the busiest corridors in the city, route bypasses the busy interchanges at City Hall and Raffles Place, to end at HarbourFront Station on the North East Line (Fig 1). To enhance accessibility to the Marina Bay area, a 2.4km long extension is being built to connect the Marina Bay and Promonade stations on the Circle Line to the new Bayfront Station on the city's new Downtown Line. as part of the CCL extension beyond Bayfront station in 2012.

At the same time, construction of the new Downtown Line has started and is progressing. This total Sing$12 billion, 40km long mostly underground, addition with 33 stations, is being implemented in three stages, and is designed to facilitate direct travel from the northwestern and eastern areas of the island to the central business district and Marina Bay.

Downtown Line at a glance:

Construction of the fully underground DTL1 phase started in February 2008 and is due to open in 2012. The contracts and civil contractors engaged on this section include:

Table 1. Contract details for the DTL1 project

Groungbreaking on the fully underground 16.6km long DTL2 project took place last Friday and is set for completion in 2015. With a depot and 12 stations, the new section will extend from Rochor Station to Little India, then run northwest along the Bukit Timah corridor to Bukit Panjang connecting at Little India with the North-East Line, at Newton with the North-South Line, and at Botanic Gardens with the Circle Line. Six civil contracts worth $2.6 billion have been awarded so far for DTL2 with another four to be awarded by September this year.

A planned 19 TBMs of a nominal 6.6m diameter are expected to work on the 16.6km long DTL2 twin-tunnel alignment with drill+blast needed to excavate hard granite at station locations, and running tunnels needed to wind their way around existing underground infrastructure.

Table 2. Six civil contracts awarded to date on the DTL2 project

The third phase of the DTL at 19.1km long will eventually run to the eastern part of Singapore, passing through Macpherson and ending at Expo. Civil construction contracts for this section of the project are schedule to roll out through 2010 and 2011 for a scheduled in-service completion by 2016, some two years ahdead of the initial projected date. LTA Chief Executive Yam Ah Mee has stated that almost $6 billion in contracts have already been awarded for the Downtown Line and that its full $12 billion cost is within the LTA's budget.

In addition to progressing the civil construction contracts, six contracts to procure trains and electrical and mechanical components for the entire DTL were awarded in Novemeber 2008. Contracts include a Sing$570.7 million contract with the Bombardier for 73 three-car trains; a Sing$287.5 million contract with Westinghouse for the signaling systems and platform screen doors; a combined Sing$152 million contract with Singapore Technologies Electronics for the integrated supervisory control and communications systems; and a Sing$22.7 million contract with Otis Elevator Company for design, manufacture and instruction of 108 lifts at all the DTL stations.

Speaking at the DTL2 groundbreaking ceremony last Friday morning, Minister Lim said residents and road users will have to put up with a series of traffic diversions as the stations on the DTL2 line are constructed but that capacity will be maintained with lane-for-lane diversions. "As with other major rail construction projects, there will be some disruption and inconvenience and I seek the understanding of residents, motorists and other commuters in this area," said Lim.

DTL2 will save significant travel time reducing by a third the current one-hour trip on public transport from Bukit Panjang to the city centre.

Expressway expansion

Meanwhile, the LTA is investing equally in its tenth highway expressway, substantial lengths of which are also underground, reserving valuable surface space for more desirable facilities including parks and gardens.

The current effort is $2.5 billion construction of Singapore's tenth expressway, the Marina Coastal Expressway. The east-west transport link includes a 3.6km long underground section with a cut and cover crossing of Marina Bay. The total 5km long, dual 5-lane, expressway, links the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) - recently opened and built mostly underground - the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), with direct connections to the Marina South and Straits View areas. As well as the bay crossing, the 3.6km long road tunnel includes two ventilation buildings, 13.1 hectares of land reclamation and three interchanges with KPE/ECP, Marina Boulevard and Central Boulevard, and the AYE.

Construction of the new expressway is divided into six civil contracts all of which have been awarded and are progressing.

Table 3. Contracts awarded for construction of the new Marina Coastal Expressway

The MCE is expected to be completed by 2013. Its construction is part of the government's commitment to improve Singapore's land transport network in the next 10 to 15 years. LTA Chief Executrive, Yam Ah Mee has said: "The MCE is one of many important initiatives to expand Singapore's land transport network into the Marina Bay area. We are pleased that many world-class contractors with proven track record are keen to partner us for the new projects to come. The LTA remains on course to deliver the improvements to the land transport network as part of our Land Transport Master Plan." Yam added: "The MCE is a very complex project and several important factors have contributed to an increased cost of the project. First and most obvious, the original MCE budget was estimated in 2006 before the steep cost increases of materials and resources. In addition, we have encountered considerably weaker soil conditions than expected, and these require more robust temporary earth retaining systems, which are essential for safety. The specifications for these types of structures have recently been tightened by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Lastly, we must also comply with the latest international fire safety standards. Together, these factors contribute to a change in cost. Notwithstanding the cost increases, we are committed to building essential infrastructure projects such as the MCE so that they are completed in time to support Singapore's long-term growth."