$2b in cost savings’ with integrated rail, bus depot
Khaw says $3.2b complex in east, which pulls together four depots, also saves on land usage
February 24, 2018
By Zhaki Abdullah
The East Coast Integrated Depot, incorporating three MRT depots as well as one for buses, will save $2 billion in taxpayer money, said Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan.
In a Facebook post yesterday, he said the cost of construction of the depot is about $3.2 billion, 40 per cent less than what it would have cost had the four depots been built separately.
He also noted that building the depots separately would have used up an additional 44ha of land, twice the land size of Changi Airport’s Terminal 4.
The new depot complex, scheduled to be completed in 2024, will replace the existing Changi depot for the East-West Line. It will include depots for the East-West and Downtown MRT lines, as well as the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) first revealed plans for the depot – said to be the first such facility of its kind – in 2013.
In 2016, South Korean firm GS Engineering & Construction won a $1.99 billion contract to build the East Coast Integrated Depot. Other contracts, such as those for electrical and mechanical works, make up the rest of the $3.2 billion cost.
GS Engineering & Construction was also involved in the building of the Gali Batu Depot in Woodlands Road, as well as the Fort Canning and Tampines East stations, all on the Downtown Line.
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