쌍용건설

[Top prize in the pioneer category for 2016 Overseas Construction Grand-Prix] Downtown Line sector 921 of Singapore of Ssangyong E&C

History of subway construction world is being rewritten again by Ssangyong at the DTL construction sector 921 of Singapore. News of this project was a boiling topic since the company has utilized all possible subway construction methods possible, and the cost of its construction was 670,000 dollars per meter of extension. Not only that, the record breaking accident-free 15 million man hours (1 man-hour is equivalent to one person working for one hour) are grasping attention from the globe.

In the year 2009, Ssangyong E&C solely won the bid for Downtown Line 921 project of Singapore for about 600 million dollars that the Singapore Land and Transport Authority ordered. It was the biggest overseas subway construction that a Korean company has ever won.

This project, which was based on 'Design and Build' method, was largest of 10 sectors that were laid out in the Singapore Downtown Line Phase 2 which connects Little India (center of Singapore) and Bugis with 1,065 meters of underground extension and 2 stations.

This sector was especially complicated since there were 10 lane road and Rochor Canal on the ground above, as well as existing North-East Line that was only 5 meters above the construction site. A 167 meters long box shaped tunnel structure had to be placed before a main construction even began.

Every type of subway construction methods, including NATM, TBM, Open-Cut, had been used to construct this short stretch of extension, and the roads above had to be detoured more than 50 times to ensure that there was no inconveniencing the traffic. For this reason, the construction cost for each meter of extension of the subway was about 700,000 dollars.

Rumor is that companies without high-tech construction methods or experience did not even had a chance for tender. “We have proposed extreme measures to tackle many difficulties that lied in the construction of the sector such as the detouring of canal and roads, and structural reinforcement of the soft ground below. We had to use every possible construction methods even if it was a short sector of a kilometer in length and even our fee proposal for the construction was about 100 million dollars more than expected, the Singapore Government chose us”, said the official of Ssangyong E&C.

What is impressive about Ssangyong E&C is that, ever since the construction began in June of 2009, during the 73 months long construction, not a single accident happened and the client LTA issued out 15 million man hour Injury Record to the company. This is a world record that no other companies has ever achieved.

Construction inspectors in Singapore are usually very fastidious so the best accident-free hour was about 7 million man hours. This site received a Champion’s Prize on the 2013 LTA’s Safety Award.

In February, currently, Ssangyong E&C is keep breaking its current record with 16 million man hour. This record is only possible when 100 workers who work 8 hours per day, work for 55 years (20,000 days) without any accident. No other precedents could ever achieve this in the subway construction which is usually very difficult and dangerous.

Korean Construction Companies go sky rocketing in the global market

40% of the Metro Subway, the ‘Gold Line’ of 170 kilometers, goes to Korean companies
Competing against Japan and Germany in additional tender of Airport, Express railway constructions

Last year, Singapore was hit hard by the Chinese market crash. Since China was the biggest trade partner, growth rate of Singapore was stepping backwards in the last year’s 1st and 2nd quarter by 2.8% and 1.8%. However, in the 4th quarter, unexpected 6% increase was as sweet as rainfall on a dry land, thanks to Construction field that grew about 7% point amid the Production field which was still in its depression. This growth was possible since investment in the infrastructure such as subway construction and airport extension has increased.
Singapore Government, who announced a ‘Grand Plan’ to build a city-state where people can use public transportation right in front of their houses, is planning to expend its metro subway lines from current 170 kilometers to 270 kilometers till 2030.

One notable thing in this shift is that Korean construction companies swept 5 of the 10 sectors of Downtown Line 2 which is the Gold line that goes through the city center. This is about 40% of entire Line 2, 3 construction.

“The client, LTA praised our expertise for meeting the timeline for the construction of the extension between Little India and Rochor station of the Downtown line 1 which we recently completed. This was because every company wanted to avoid the sector for there was a canal running through it”, said the construction manager Kim Woo Sang of Ssangyong E&C. Recently, Ssangyong E&C won a joint contract with Hyundai E&C for the ‘Thompson Line’ with the estimated cost of 252 million dollars. This, too, is a difficult sector that runs across densely populated residential area with apartments, yet with soft ground foundations.

Additional contracts are estimated in the field for mega size projects are expected to be placed this year since the establishment of AEC last year.
“Scale of construction in Singapore are not as big or lucrative as the ones in the Middle-East, however, there is constant need for construction, clear tendering process, and clear payment. I can honestly say that we have 50 years’ worth of construction work here”, said the manager Kim.

One of the big constructions in the market is the 340 kilometer long express train track construction that connects Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, which both Singapore and Malaysia are planning.

Total construction is estimated to be about 21 billion dollars and 14.8 billion of the total amount will be invested by Singapore.

Currently, 250 proposals from the bidders were received, and 98 among those were ed. 14 companies from overseas will be joining the final presentation. Not only Korea, China and Japan, other countries like France and Germany are in the stiff competition. Our biggest competitor is, of course, Japan. Straits Times of Singapore reported that Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is focusing his attention on winning the contract on the Singapore-Malaysia express train line after a success in the bidding for Indian express train line construction contract. Keiichi Ishii, Secretary of Japanese Land & Transport Authority, even promised to give full support for winning the contract on the Singapore-Malaysia express train line, thus entering a heightened lobbying battle.

Ms Sanchita Basu Das, the lead researcher of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told the reporter in the interview that what’s surprising about Japan is that the country and the company works in coordination as one body under strictly laid-out plans in targeting South-East Asian markets. Intension of strategy is different from other countries such as USA, she added.