Circle Line breakthrough

Tunnelling completed, and parts of line to city could open by mid-2010

THE good news is that stages of the new Circle Line that lead to downtown Singapore could open by the second quarter of next year, with the entire 33.3km, 29-station project ready by early-2011.

But the not-so-good news is that the project, which started in 2002, could cost taxpayers close to $10 billion, or 50 per cent more than the original $6.7 billion bill.

Sources close to the underground construction project - long delayed after a tunnelling accident in 2004 - said that Stages 1 and 2 of the line could open by early next year.

This stretch, with 11 stations, goes from Paya Lebar to Dhoby Ghaut via Suntec.

And Stages 4 and 5 - the north and western portions - could be ready by end next year or early-2011.

Already in service is Stage 3, consisting of five stations from Bartley to Marymount. It opened for service on May 28, but ridership has been low, hovering in the low 30,000s, well below the 45,000 to 55,000 expected. Analysts say this is unlikely to improve until the rest of the line opens.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) would not be specific about when the other stages would open, beyond saying 'remaining stations are expected to commence progressively from 2010'.

It said Stages 1 and 2 stations which have attained temporary occupation permit (TOP) status are Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Promenade and Tai Seng, signalling that they have cleared all building and safety inspections, and are ready to be handed over to operator SMRT Corp.

Other stations like Nicoll Highway, Stadium, MacPherson, Paya Lebar, Dakota and Mountbatten are expected to get TOP by the end of this year.

At a ceremony to mark the completion of tunnelling works yesterday, LTA chief executive Yam Ah Mee said the dates for when the rest of the line would open were still fluid. He said that remaining tracks had to be laid, electrical and mechanical works completed, and testing and commissioning done with operator SMRT.

Currently, 76 per cent of the tracks have been laid; and 97 per cent of electrical and mechanical works are done.

Yesterday's tunnel breakthrough ceremony marked the completion of the toughest part of construction.

The last bit of tunnelling was completed near the Farrer station. The LTA had expected tunnels in the western loop of the line to be completed last, but it has turned out that Farrer was the most challenging because of the mixed soil conditions underground.

'Granite, clay...you name it, we had it,' LTA Circle Line director Ow Chun Nam said.

Construction was also made more challenging by water seepage. Despite building retaining walls that were 1.2m thick - among the thickest anywhere - water had found its way into the tunnel.

Station walls were also marked by several patch lines where workers did grouting, engineering process where concrete material is pumped into leak points at high pressure to seal them.

Still, the tunnel floor was visibly wet. Mr Ow said he was confident that the leaks would be contained when construction is fully completed.

The LTA would not comment on how much the line would cost.

'Works are still in progress, and it's a bit too early to tell,' said Mr Yam, when asked for an estimate of the cost increase.

The original budget of $6.7 billion was busted after a tunnel near Nicoll Highway collapsed in 2004, killing four workers. Since then, all underground works had to be made far more robust, thus pushing costs up. One station, Dakota in the Guillemard area, had to be rebuilt altogether as a result.

Then, the cost of raw materials such as sand, concrete and steel started to spiral from 2007.

This led one builder, Sweden's NCC International, to throw in the towel. The company has just completed an arbitration - a closed-door dispute-settlement process - with the LTA after it stopped work at the MacPherson and Tai Seng stations. The Straits Times understands that one other Circle Line contractor was close to going for arbitration.

'Almost all the cost issues have been settled,' said a major builder yesterday.

One former senior LTA executive estimated the cost of the entire project to reach around $10 billion.

Source: Straits Times, 18 Aug 2009