Main contractor for Downtown MRT Line 2 files for insolvency
25 Jun 2013|7,581 views
As reported earlier, Austrian builder Alpine Bau filed for insolvency last week after a failed restructuring plan. The firm was the main contractor to be working on Downtown Line 2's three stations - King Albert Park, Sixth Avenue and Tan Kah Kee.
According to industry experts the local paper spoke to, the project could 'optimistically' be delayed by up to six months. "It depends on a number of things. Like how quickly a receiver is appointed and what it is tasked to do, and if the project is to be re-tendered and how soon that can be done," according to the Managing Director of a major construction company.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) cited there were "legal and contractual matters to be resolved" before work could resume - a process that could take up to six months. Though the local authority is working to minimise the impact on the project's schedule, it is uncertain of the duration of the delay.
The local paper reported that Alpine Bau's plunge into insolvency caught the LTA by surprise as just days before it had assured the local authority and underlined its commitment to complete the station and tunnelling works. The company has completed about half of the work on the three stations and tunnels.
Alpine Bau is owned by Spanish group FCC and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. According to Bloomberg, it has accumulated €2.56 billion (S$4.3 billion) in debt and equities - the largest insolvency in Austria since World War II.
When the Downtown Line 2 is complete, it would link Singapore's North-Western region to the upcoming Marina downtown by 2015. The first stage of the underground Downtown Line which will link Bugis and Chinatown to Marina Bay is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year.
As reported earlier, Austrian builder Alpine Bau filed for insolvency last week after a failed restructuring plan. The firm was the main contractor to be working on Downtown Line 2's three stations - King Albert Park, Sixth Avenue and Tan Kah Kee.
According to industry experts the local paper spoke to, the project could 'optimistically' be delayed by up to six months. "It depends on a number of things. Like how quickly a receiver is appointed and what it is tasked to do, and if the project is to be re-tendered and how soon that can be done," according to the Managing Director of a major construction company.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) cited there were "legal and contractual matters to be resolved" before work could resume - a process that could take up to six months. Though the local authority is working to minimise the impact on the project's schedule, it is uncertain of the duration of the delay.
The local paper reported that Alpine Bau's plunge into insolvency caught the LTA by surprise as just days before it had assured the local authority and underlined its commitment to complete the station and tunnelling works. The company has completed about half of the work on the three stations and tunnels.
Alpine Bau is owned by Spanish group FCC and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. According to Bloomberg, it has accumulated €2.56 billion (S$4.3 billion) in debt and equities - the largest insolvency in Austria since World War II.
When the Downtown Line 2 is complete, it would link Singapore's North-Western region to the upcoming Marina downtown by 2015. The first stage of the underground Downtown Line which will link Bugis and Chinatown to Marina Bay is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year.
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