Page 8 - TunnelTalk Annual Review 2011

Kuala Lumpur concludes
Shani Wallis, TunnelTalk
MRT Swiss Challenge
Fig 1. Kuala Lumpur’s MRT route under the central business district
Fig 2. Full route of the mass transit line
2011 and construction activity along the line started in late 2011.
Preliminary design of MMC-Gamuda’s proposal for the underground works anticipates eight, or perhaps 10, TBMs to excavate the 9.5km long twin tube running tunnels within a tight construction period that has the line operating (according to Government announcements) by 2016.
As the TunnelTalk Annual Review went to press, it was announced that Herrenknecht is to supply the MMC- Gamuda JV with the first six TBMs. Sources close to the deal say the order is for a new type of variable density machine (VD-TBM) designed by Herrenknecht to deal with the complex geology of the alignment.
For the SMART tunnel, in the same area and through the same geological conditions, MMC-Gamuda- used two 13m diameter Herrenknecht slurry Mixshields.
The sales and purchase agreement for the machine is worth MYR360 million (US$117.4 million). MMC-Gamuda will finance the order with a 5% advance payment (MYR400 million) of the total project cost from the Malaysian Government.
As many as 130,000 jobs are expected to be generated for construction of the project. To prepare a workforce for the specialised tunnelling and underground constructionworks,MMC-Gamudawith MTA has established a training facility to train workers for the different tasks involved. n
References
• Record rail tunnel breakthrough in Malaysia - TunnelTalk, Nov 2010
• Kuala Lumpur opens tunnel Training Academy - TunnelTalk, Dec 2011
On going to press in early 2012 it was confirmed that MMC-Gamuda will build the underground section of Kuala Lumpur’s new mass transit line.
Estimated at some MYR12 billion Malaysian Ringgit (about US$3.8 billion), the underground infrastructure comprises 9.5km of twin running tunnels and seven underground stations (Fig 1). It forms the central section of the capital’s new MYR50 billion (US$16 billion) Klang Valley Mass RapidTransitlineof51kmand35stations from Sugai Buloh in the northwest to Kajang in the southeast (Fig 2).
The international contenders for the underground works were groups led by Gadang-Hyundai of Korea, Taisei Corp of Japan, China’s Sinohydro Group, and the China Railway Corp.
As the original promoter of the new line, MMC-Gamuda Corp was appointed as the Government’s Project Delivery Partner in December 2010 and as such, was disqualified from construction of the line, except for the underground section. Competitors for the underground works were required to satisfy a stringent set of prequalification criteria before submitting proposals by the deadline in January 2012.
As the most experienced tunnel construction group in Malaysia, following its successful SMART storm water and road tunnel project in Kuala Lumpur in the early2000sandtheBerapittunnelonthe Ipoh-Padang Besar railway line upgrade in 2010, MMC-Gamuda was presented the opportunity to bid for the underground section via the Swiss Challenge method of procurement. As part of its promotion, MMC-Gamuda presented the preliminary design and contract principles for the project. Against this, competitive counter-
proposals were invited, after which MMC- Gamuda had the opportunity to exercise a Swiss Challenge to either equal or better the preferred proposal.
As it happened, the Swiss Challenge advantage was not required. MMC- Gamuda submitted a competitive tender in January 2011 also, and won the contract on the merits of its technical and financial proposals.
Gus Klados, who worked on the SMART tunnel for MMC-Gamuda, has returned to Kuala Lumpur and the JV to work on the MRT project as nominated Head of Underground Works. Don Hall, who was tunnel construction manager for MMC-Gamuda on the SMART project, also joins the MRT underground construction project.
For the MRT owner organisation, Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid is the Chief Executive Officer and Marcus Karakashian is recruited from Singapore to lead its management and technical team. Ian Thoms moves from his previous engagement on the Gautrain in South Africa to be Project Director of the MMC-Gamuda Project Delivery Partner organisation for the full mass transit line including procurement of all M&E, operating systems and rolling stock.
Scope and management
Central Government approved the estimated MYR50 billion (US$16 billion) total cost of the 51km, 35 stations project in December 2010. In September 2011, the MRT Corp was established by the Ministry of Finance to develop the line. With design- build proposals invited for the underground works, contracts were awarded for the surface and elevated works in September
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