Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, in partnership with GEC Services of Hong Kong, has won a US$30M contract to supply, install and maintain electrical and mechanical equipment in the Thu Thiem road tunnel under construction in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial capital.
The 1.49km dual three-lane tunnel, designed to handle up to 30,000 vehicles a day, will be built as an immersed tube under the Saigon River. The deal was confirmed as main contractor Obayashi Corporation started to prepare a 9ha casting basin in the city’s Nhon Trach district about 20km from the work site for the fabrication of the units. The basin, which will be capable of fabricating four sections at a time, will take four months to complete.
Huynh Ngoc Si, director of the East-West Highway and Water Environment Project Management, said: “We estimate it will take eight months to finish the four sections, which will each measure 98m in length, 23.3m in width and be 9m high.” The units will be floated out to a trench up to 14m deep.
