$562m Singapore Cross Island Line extension station construction deal awarded

Chip Eng Seng Corporation has won a S$562 million (US$428 million) civils contractor for the construction of Elias station and tunnels under the Cross Island Line-Punggol (CPe) metro extension in Singapore. 

Artist’s impression of the Cross-Island Punggol Extension Elias station (Image: Land Transport Authority, Singapore)

A joint venture between two subsidiaries of Chip Eng Seng Corporation – Chip Eng Seng Contractors (1988) and CES_PDC – will start work on the CPe Elias station in the second quarter of 2023.

CPe Elias is an underground station located along Pasir Drive 3. It will sit at a depth of 40m and have five entrances.

The station is part of the wider US$30 billion Cross Island Line, which will be Singapore’s eighth MRT line. The 50km line will be Singapore’s longest underground metro 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.

CRL Phase 1 is 29km long, and comprises 12 stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill. Construction works have commenced and are expected to complete by 2030.

CRL Phase 2, announced in September 2022, is approximately 15 kilometres long and comprises six underground stations - Turf City, King Albert Park, Maju, Clementi, West Coast and Jurong Lake District.

Meanwhile, the 7.3km-long CPe will comprise four stations – Punggol, Riviera, Elias and Pasir Ris. It will connect eastern areas like Pasir Ris and Tampines North with north-eastern areas like Punggol and Senkang. Passenger services are due to start in 2032.

A tunnel boring machine will be used to construct a pair of tunnels, each approximately 1.4km long, linking Elias and Pasir Ris stations, with the deepest section approximately 50m below ground level.

Engineering studies for the CRL Phase 3 are ongoing and more details will be announced after these studies are completed.