More XRL contracts awarded

Two more tunnelling contracts have been awarded on Hong Kong’s XRL by Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR).

The first contract, worth USD 177M, went to the Dragages/Bouygues joint venture. The contract includes construction of the Shek Yam to Mei Lai Road tunnels, which will be excavated by drill and blast. The alignment will pass through the Tolo Harbour Fault, where water ingress is expected.

The second contract, worth USD 193M, went to the Maeda/China State joint venture. The contract includes construction by TBM of the Kam Tin Tunnels. It will include an open cut excavation as well as two 1.2km and two 800m mixed face TBM drives under villages and existing roads using one machine on turnaround.

MTR has awarded other contracts in relation to the XRL project, which include the West Kowloon Terminus Approach Tunnels North to the Bachy/Laing O’Rourke JV, and the 3km TBM driven Mei Lai Road to Hoi Ting Road Tunnels to the Dragages/Bouygues JV.

The contract for the 7.6 km twin-tube drill and blast tunnels between Tse Uk Tsuen and Shek Yam went to Leighton Asia. Penta-Ocean Construction won the 2.2km TBM twin tunnel section between Mai Po and Ngau Tam Mei. CRCC/Hsin Chong/CRCC 15th Bureau JV scooped the 3.2 km dual TBM Huanggang to Mai Po tunnels contract.

Contracts expected to be awarded in August include the Shek Kong Stabling Siding, and the Ngau Tam Mei to Tai Kong Po Tunnels.

XRL - The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link - comprises the underground West Kowloon Terminus (WKT), and a 26km dedicated tunnel running from WKT to the Hong Kong / Shenzhen Boundary. There will be no intermediate station in the Hong Kong Section. The entire XRL project involves 14.2 km of drill-and-blast excavation, 8.5km of mixed-ground TBM tunneling, and 2km of open-cut excavation. On completion in 2015, XRL will reduce the 20 hour journey from Hong Kong to Shanghai to just ten hours.