Singapore and Korea Order Shield Machines

 Kawasaki received orders for shield machines to be used for subway construction work in Korea and Singapore. The orders were placed in November and December 2003, respectively.

 For Korea, Pusan-based Dong-A Geographical Engineering Co., Ltd. ordered a slurry shield machine (diameter 7.8m) that can handle rock layers to be used for two 1.8km sections (total 3.6km) of Subway Line 9, covering the distance between Seoul’s Parliament Building and the Han River. The machine is to be delivered this May.

 The Singapore order is for the Singapore Circle Line, a 33km-loop subway managed by the country’s Land Transport Authority. To excavate a total of 5.5km of this loop inbound and outbound, Taisei Corporation ordered two earth-pressure balanced shield machines (diameter 6.63m) and another two slurry shield machines (diameter 6.63m) from Kawasaki. Deliveries of the machines are scheduled between October and December 2004.

 A combination of shield tunneling technology for soft ground and tunnel boring machine technology for rock and gravel layers enables earth-pressure balanced shield machines and slurry shield machines to excavate mixed layer areas.