KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Structural work, including the tunnels for the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) in Section 9, which spans 55 kilometres (km) from Serendah in Hulu Selangor to Jalan Kastam in Klang, has reached 65 per cent progress.
The China Communications Group Corporation (CCCC) head engineer for the Section 9 ECRL Project, Zhu Zhengwei, attributed the progress to their success in completing the four main tunnels in the said section ahead of schedule.
The four tunnels are the 403-metre (m)-long Sungai Buaya 1 Tunnel; 469m-long Sungai Buaya 2 Tunnel; 208m-long Rawang-Bestari Jaya Tunnel; and 657m-long Puncak Alam Tunnel.
“Excavation work for the Rawang-Bestari Jaya Tunnel was among the most challenging ones because we had to use the hill excavation method and not the blasting or TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) methods.
“We needed to avoid any tremors during construction work because there are crucial utility alignments, including water and gas pipes, on the road surface,” he told Bernama after a tunnel technical visit organised by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in Rawang, near here, today.
Zhu said the Rawang-Bestari Jaya Tunnel was completed using a specific method (the 3-bench 7-step excavation method, with 5 cycles of large canopy tube as advanced support and advanced full face curtain grouting), which allowed the ECRL bypass to be built without having to cross Jalan Rawang–Bestari Jaya.
He explained that three stations would be built in Section 9, at Puncak Alam (Kuala Selangor), Kapar (Klang) and Jalan Kastam (Klang).
The ECRL project in Selangor involves three construction sections, namely Section 7 covering parts of the Genting Tunnel in Selangor; Section 8 involving the range from Gombak to Serendah; and Section 9 involving the alignment through Bandar Baru Sungai Buaya, Saujana Rawang, Batu Arang, including the Batu Arang Forest Reserve, Puncak Alam, Kapar and Port Klang.
The construction crosses several major infrastructures, such as the North-South Expressway, Jalan Kuala Selangor, the LATAR Highway and Jalan Kapar, as well as crossing Sungai Puloh and Sungai Kajang, and will end at Jalan Kastam for passenger services before connecting to Westport and Northport in Port Klang for cargo services.
The construction for Phase 1 of the ECRL from Kota Bharu to the Gombak Integrated Terminal in Selangor is scheduled for completion by December 2026, with operations set for January 2027, while Phase 2, from Gombak to Port Klang, is slated to be completed by December 2027 and fully operational by January 2028. — Bernama
