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Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning

I am happy to join you all at this International Conference on Deep Excavations 2006. Allow me to bid a warm welcome to all the participants at this conference, especially to our many overseas guests and experts.

2.                  I would like to thank our Land Transport Authority, the Association of Consulting Engineers, and the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Society of Singapore, for putting this conference together. By bringing together both the professionals involved in excavation and construction as well as transport planners and policy-makers under the Conference theme of “Challenge and Risk Management”, I am sure you can all look forward to a very interesting and fruitful exchange of views and ideas over the next three days of this Conference.

Singapore’s experience in subterranean development

3.                  As a densely populated city-state with over 4 million people, Singapore’s transportation needs have grown rapidly over the years. We have had to turn to subterranean development to meet these needs.  As Singapore is already very built-up, we have had to dig deeper and face ever more complex scenarios in planning and executing underground construction.   

4.                  The many eminent professionals here today are already well acquainted with the complexities of constructing and operating underground transport infrastructure.  I am sure many will agree that subterranean development brings with it difficult engineering challenge and risks. In Singapore, one major on-going underground project is the construction of the Circle Line.  This is a fully underground orbital line that links the existing mass rapid transit lines to the city. Passing through the heart of the city, under rivers and basins and through major residential, industrial and commercial areas, it will intersect with virtually every major transport railway line, expressway and roadway.  It is a tremendous engineering challenge - one of the most difficult as well as expensive infrastructure project that the Land Transport Authority has ever undertaken - but when completed, the Circle Line will be a key link in our national rail network and will bring us another step forward towards realizing our vision of “A World Class Land Transport System” for Singapore.

5.                  During this conference, we will be sharing various aspects of our experience in the Circle Line construction.  Beyond just the challenges involved in deep excavation, the Circle Line engineers have to deal with the challenges of excavating in soft and highly variable soil conditions coupled with high water content.  In addition, there were also architectural and aesthetic considerations.  A good example is the Circle Line Bras Basah Station, which is located in front of the historically significant Singapore Art Museum. In designing and constructing the 35-metre deep excavation, considerable care has to be taken to ensure that the Museum’s 139 year-old structure is safeguarded.  

6.                  Underground infrastructure also poses challenges for policy-makers and planners.  Given its complexity, roads and railways built underground are several times more costly than roads and railways built on the surface, putting even greater pressure on limited resources.  Hence, policy-makers and planners have had to think even harder about how to finance the building, operation and maintenance of expensive transport infrastructure. Various governments have embarked on private financing initiatives and private sector partnership models, with varying degrees of success.  We can learn from such efforts.

7.                  As well as confronting the many challenges of deep excavation, here in Singapore, we have also lived through the risks.  For over two decades, Singapore held an untarnished record in deep tunnelling works.  Unfortunately, our clean slate was marred by a deeply regrettable incident at a Circle Line excavation worksite two years ago - the Nicoll Highway cave-in caused the deaths of four people, and served as a stark reminder of the risks of deep excavation work.   

8.                  During this conference, we will share the lessons we have learned to prevent it from happening again.  Three key changes were made as a result of the Nicoll Highway cave-in incident. First, the Government has instituted key reforms to improve Singapore’s occupational safety and health standards.  In March this year, the Workplace Safety and Health Act was implemented as part of a new framework aimed at entrenching a safety culture at workplaces.   

9.                  Second, the Building Control Authority Act is being revised to take into account the role of geotechnical engineering in the management of temporary earth-retaining structures.  These changes will bring the design and construction of temporary retaining structures under the ambit of the Building Control Authority Act.

10.             Third, we are working to increase the professionalism of the construction industry at all levels. We need to raise the skill levels of the construction workforce, which will go hand in hand with developing a strong safety culture.

Singapore sharing its expertise overseas

11.             Singapore has always strived to innovate and break new ground. We are constantly looking to improve our construction methods. Over the years, the experience that we have built up has provided us with new challenges and opportunities to share our expertise overseas and leverage on the experience that we have gained.

12.             For example in April last year, MSI Global, a subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority, has completed consultancy services for the systems integration of the Nanjing Metro Line 1. The contract was won in partnership with the China Academy of Railway Sciences in October 2004. As the contract’s lead consultant, MSI Global was responsible for integrating the core railway systems with operation requirements. The metro was officially open for revenue service last September.

13.             MSI (Shanghai) Engineering Consultancy Pte Ltd, a MSI Global branch in China is in the final stages of signing a contract with Shanghai Shentong to be the Project Manager to help manage the Shanghai Metro Line 10 that will have fully-automated features similar to our North East Line in Singapore. This Metro Line 10 is the first fully automated heavy MRT system in China with a 42km route length and 34 stations. We believe this project would be a major milestone in the development of China’s urban transportation system, and a reference project for MSI Global.

Conclusion

14.       Sharing experiences helps all of us to improve our standards. Thus, it is vital that we share our experiences and expertise with others who have to face the same challenges as Singapore in their efforts to attain continuous and sustainable development. Many of you will come to appreciate this conference as a platform to share Singapore’s experiences in undertaking deep excavation and underground works and allow you to benchmark with the experiences gained as well.  Over the next two days, you will cover all of the interdisciplinary aspects relating to underground construction, ranging from design and construction, risk management, ground improvements and investigation, to research and technology development.  I hope this conference will be a useful forum for exchanges on the development of innovative uses of underground space, by showcasing improved and more cost-effective techniques for the planning, geo-investigation, design, construction, operation and maintenance of underground structures.

15.       I wish you all a fruitful and successful conference.

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