The underground works for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project is 30 percent complete as of mid-June, according to Satpal S. Bhogal, Project Director at MMC-Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd (MGKT).
At present, the company is “undertaking the largest package worth RM8.28 billion covering 9.5km of underground works,” he said. The underground works involve the tunnelling of seven subterranean stations, including their exits, entries and ventilation shafts.
“A total of 10 tunnel boring machines (TBM) will be used to excavate the twin-bored tunnels for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line. All these machines will be running simultaneously by 2014.”
To date, MGKT is operating two TBMs; one near the Semantan Station at the Semantan North Portal, while the other is at the Cochrane Station. On the other hand, the remaining machines are awaiting delivery, or are still being built.
To tackle different soil conditions, the company will also use two kinds of TBMs, namely the Variable Density Slurry (VD) and the Earth Pressure Balance (EPB).
“Among the challenges we have to manage with the underground works is tunnelling through karstic limestone ground. Karstic limestone has soil of varying densities from hard rock to water-filled caverns. Other challenges are underground pipes and traffic density in the city,” explained Project manager Gus Klados.
“A lot of the pipes in the city are located underground, but there is no detailed map to indicate its location or alignment. Hence, we have to constantly find out what is underneath and relocate the pipes where necessary.”
The tunnelling works started in May 2013 and is expected to end in October 2014, while the entire KVMRT project will likely be completed by July 2017.
The seven stations of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line are Maluri, Merdeka, Cochrane, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni, Pasar Rakyat and Bukit Bintang
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