Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded the first civil contract to design and construct a stretch of the North-South Corridor (NSC) to Samsung C&T Corporation, at a contract sum of S$809 million.

Samsung C&T will design and construct a 1.25 km stretch of tunnels with two entry ramp tunnels and two exit ramp tunnels between Novena Rise and Toa Payoh Rise. Commuter facilities such as pedestrian overhead bridges, sheltered linkways, bus stops and cycling paths will also be built along this stretch as part of the contract.

Works for this stretch of the NSC are expected to commence in 2018. According to LTA, the civil contracts for the rest of the NSC’s tender packages are expected to be awarded in 2018/2019.

Samsung C&T has completed several major projects in Singapore, including the construction of North-South Line’s Marina South Pier Station, a 1.75 km stretch of the Marina Coastal Expressway as well as the Downtown Line 3’s Expo and Upper Changi Stations. The company is also currently involved in the construction of Xilin Station and tunnels as part of the Downtown Line Extension and the Caldecott and Marine Parade Stations as part of the Thomson-East Coast Line.

The North-South Corridor is Singapore’s first integrated transport corridor featuring continuous bus lanes and at-grade cycling trunk routes, to serve public bus commuters, cyclists and pedestrians, in line with the country’s car-lite vision. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2026.