SINGAPORE — A S$180 million contract for the construction of a bridge and tunnels for the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link has been awarded to the Singapore branch of transport infrastructure firm China Communications Construction Company.

Announcing this on Friday (Jan 29), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the second civil contract for the rail project covers the construction of a 25m-high bridge linking an underground station at Woodlands North in Singapore to the above-ground Bukit Chagar station in Johor, Malaysia.

LTA said that the construction of the bridge and tunnels is expected to start between April and June.

Malaysia began constructing its side of the infrastructure in November last year.  

LTA said that the Singapore branch of the China Communications Construction Company has 15 years of experience in infrastructure construction, specialising in large-scale rail, road and bridge projects. It has completed rail projects in countries such as China and Kenya.

At present, the firm is building the Boon Lay MRT Station on the Jurong Region Line, which will serve Singapore’s west from 2026. 

The RTS Link is a 4km rail shuttle service that will allow travellers from Singapore to cross the Straits of Johor and reach Bukit Chagar in five minutes. Passenger service is scheduled to start by the end of 2026.

LTA awarded the first civil contract for the project, worth about S$909 million, to Penta-Ocean Construction, a Japanese construction company specialising in marine work and land reclamation, in November last year. 

That contract covers the construction of the Woodlands North station, tunnels and a customs, immigration and quarantine building in Singapore.