Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded civil contracts for the design and construction of two interchange stations under the Cross Island Line (CRL) Phase 2 project – King Albert Park and Clementi.
The contract for the King Albert Park station was awarded to China Communications Construction Company Limited (Singapore Branch), totalling around S$447 million. The contract for the Clementi station, totalling around S$514 million, was awarded to China Communications Construction Company Limited (Singapore Branch) – Sinohydro Corporation Limited (Singapore Branch) Joint Venture.
The CRL King Albert Park station is located along Blackmore Drive off Bukit Timah Road, while the CRL Clementi station is adjacent to the junction of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Avenue 4. Both stations are situated in busy areas surrounded by residential, educational and commercial properties. LTA said to mitigate the impact to residents, students and motorists, traffic and utilities diversions which are needed to facilitate construction works will be implemented in phases.
The ground conditions at these two locations are also challenging, added LTA. To ensure safety and ground stability of the neighbouring stakeholders throughout the construction, earth retaining and stabilising structures will be built prior to excavation and construction of the station structures.
LTA further mentioned that addition and alteration works at King Albert Park station on the Downtown Line and Clementi station on the East-West Line will also be carried out to allow seamless transfers and enhance connectivity to these new CRL interchange stations.
Construction works for the CRL King Albert Park and CRL Clementi stations are expected to start in the first quarter of 2024, with passenger service for CRL Phase 2 targeted to commence in 2032.
China Communications Construction Company Limited has an extensive track record in delivering design-and-build services both locally and abroad. The contractor is currently undertaking the construction of CRL Tampines North station, Jurong Region Line Boon Lay station and Johor Bahru – Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link viaduct and tunnels. It is also involved in the construction of the Jurong East Integrated Transport Hub.
Similarly, Sinohydro Corporation Limited has been working on a wide range of local and overseas infrastructure projects. The contractor built the Napier station on the Thomson-East Coast Line and is involved in the ongoing construction of the CRL Pasir Ris East station.
The CRL is Singapore’s eighth MRT line. It will serve existing and future developments in the eastern, north-eastern and western corridors, linking major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District and Changi region. Almost half of all CRL stations will be interchanges with other rail lines, making it easier and more convenient for commuters to travel across the rail network.
The fully underground CRL will be built in three phases. Announced in 2019, CRL Phase 1 is 29 km long and comprises 12 stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill. As of March 2022, all the civil contracts for CRL Phase 1 have been awarded. Construction works have commenced and are scheduled to complete by 2030.
CRL Phase 2, announced in September 2022, is approximately 15 km long and comprises six stations – Turf City, King Albert Park, Maju, Clementi, West Coast and Jurong Lake District. Engineering studies for CRL Phase 3 are ongoing and more details will be announced after these studies are completed.
All images: LTA
