The Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore has awarded the civil contract for the construction of East Coast Integrated Depot.
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This is the world’s first four-in-one rail and bus depot – and its reception tunnels at the value of around S$1.99 billion.
In addition, three other civil contracts for the construction of Siglap and Bayshore stations along Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) and Xilin station along Downtown Line 3 Extension (DTL3e) were awarded with a total value of around S$1.31 billion.
The construction of East Coast Integrated Depot and its reception tunnels has been awarded to GS Engineering & Construction Corporation at a contract sum of around S$1.99 billion.
GS Engineering & Construction Corporation is a Korea-based global contractor with a wide range of experience in providing design and construction services. GS Engineering has completed infrastructure and building projects in Korea and overseas, including Singapore.
It was previously involved in the construction of DTL2’s Gali Batu Depot. GS Engineering is currently involved in the construction of DTL3’s Fort Canning and Tampines East stations, and TEL’s Woodlands interchange station.
East Coast Integrated Depot will be the first in the world to integrate three train depots and one bus depot within a single site of 36 hectares.
In this four-in-one depot, LTA will be stacking the train depots for the East-West Line (EWL), DTL and TEL, with a bus depot located next to them. The integrated depot can house around 220 trains and 550 buses.
This land integration saves Singapore 44 hectares of land, or an area of approximately 60 football fields.
The construction of Siglap station has been awarded to John Holland Pty Ltd – Zhen Hua (Singapore) Engineering Pte. Ltd. Joint Venture at a contract sum of S$176 million.
John Holland is an established contractor in Australia, delivering contracting, engineering and services solutions to various sectors and was recently acquired by CCCC International Holding Limited (CCCI).
John Holland, in joint venture with Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd, is currently working on the construction of DTL3’s Jalan Besar station. John Holland is also in joint venture with Leighton Contractors (Asia) Pte Ltd, working on TEL’s Springleaf station.
Zhen Hua is an established contractor, with overseas transit experience mainly in China with on-going projects in Beijing, Qingdao and Guangzhou. Both John Holland and Zhen Hua are subsidiaries of China Communication Construction Company (CCCC).
The construction of Bayshore station and its associated tunnels has been awarded to Woh Hup (Private) Ltd – Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd Joint Venture at a contract sum of S$296 million.
Both of the Joint Venture partners are established contractors in Singapore and have completed several infrastructure and building projects in Singapore and overseas.
They were previously involved in the construction of Circle Line’s Bras Basah, Buona Vista, Dhoby Ghaut, Esplanade, Holland Village, Kent Ridge, Promenade and Serangoon stations.
Together with Marine Parade, Marine Terrace and Tanjong Rhu stations, Bayshore and Siglap stations will serve as Civil Defence shelters along the East Coast stretch of TEL.
The construction of Xilin station and its associated tunnels, as well as reception tunnels to the depot, has been awarded to Samsung C&T Corporation at a contract sum of S$834 million.
Samsung C&T Corporation is an established contractor in South Korea, which has completed several infrastructure and building projects in South Korea and overseas, including Singapore.
It was previously involved in the construction of North-South Line’s Marina South station, DTL1’s Telok Ayer station and the Marina Coastal Expressway. Samsung C&T Corporation is currently involved in the construction of DTL3’s Expo and Upper Changi stations, as well as TEL’s Caldecott and Marine Parade stations.
Construction works for these four civil contracts are expected to start by the second quarter of 2016. Siglap and Bayshore stations are targeted for completion in 2023 while Xilin station and East Coast Integrated Depot are targeted for completion in 2024.
The 13-kilometre East Coast stretch of the TEL will connect commuters living in the eastern parts of Singapore and who are not directly served by the rail network currently, such as those in Tanjong Rhu, Siglap, Marine Parade, Upper East Coast and Bedok South, to the heart of the city.
As part of the 43-kilometre long TEL, the East Coast stretch will also connect commuters to the Thomson stretch of the TEL, which serves the north-south corridor. The East Coast stretch will have nine stations, including one interchange station with the DTL3e.
DTL3e will be 2.2 kilometres long and consists of two stations. This extension to the 42-km DTL will improve public transport accessibility to the Changi Business Park and Expo areas.
By linking the TEL and DTL, this extension also improves public transport connectivity in the eastern areas of Singapore, and helps relieve crowding on the EWL.
The East Coast stretch of the TEL will be completed in two stages. The first seven stations from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore will be ready in 2023, while the remaining two stations and the DTL3e will be completed in 2024. ■