Yongnam Holdings, the structural steel contractor and specialist civil engineering solutions provider, says the group has been awarded its fifth contract valued at $20.2 million for the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE). With this contract win, the group has secured contracts worth a total of $326 million for the MCE.

Yongnam will support main contractor Ssangyong Engineering and Construction in the installation and subsequent extraction of the temporary steel pipe pile earth retaining wall of the 640m dual carriageway vehicular tunnel structure and slip tunnels.

The dual five-lane, 5km long MCE underground east-west transport link runs between the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE), the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), with direct connections to the Marina South and Straits View areas.

The MCE will run through segments of reclaimed land as well as feature a 420m section that runs below the Marina Bay seabed. This poses many complex technical and engineering challenges, compounded by the difficult soil conditions in the area. Excavation works could run as deep as 60 metres in certain sections and cover the entire width of the expressway. At its deepest point, the MCE will be about 20 metres below mean sea level.

The contract is expected to complete in May 2012. It is expected to have a favourable impact on the group’s financial performance for the year ended Dec 31, 2010.