MTR awards £100m Hong Kong Rail Express Link contract to Laing O’Rourke/Bachy Soletanche JV

MTR Corporation, the operator of the mass transit rail system in Hong Kong, has awarded a £100m (HK$1039m) contract to a Laing O’Rourke/Bachy Soletanche joint venture, for the underground construction of a section of the approach tunnels for the station complex in West Kowloon.

The award, Contract 811a, is part of MTR’s massive Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Hong Kong Section) Project, and is for the West Kowloon Terminus Approach Tunnels (North). The work will comprise the construction of tunnels using cut & cover techniques on the station’s approach.

The 26-km long Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (The Express Rail Link) starts from West Kowloon, Hong Kong to the boundary of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and will connect with the 16,000 km Chinese National High-speed Railway Network. Construction works for the Express Rail Link commenced in January 2010 with target completion by 2015.

Mike Robins, Laing O’Rourke’s Managing Director, Hong Kong said, “The Express Rail Link project is part of a major investment programme in rail infrastructure in Hong Kong, and we are delighted to be appointed with our partner to one of the initial sections of this complex and challenging rail infrastructure development.”

Laing O'Rourke has already established a presence in Hong Kong's fiercely competitive railway construction market. It has worked with the MTR Corporation to construct and maintain the Tseung Kwan O extension line, with technicians and engineers carrying out infrastructure improvement and maintenance programmes to support the line’s 24/7 operation. Other Laing O’Rourke teams deliver major multi-disciplinary rail projects and maintenance services in the UK, Australasia and Saudi Arabia.