The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will progressively open Lornie Highway – the new dual four-lane road connecting MacRitchie Viaduct to Adam Flyover – from the third quarter of 2018.

2      The new highway will open in two phases^[1]. The southbound highway towards Adam Flyover is expected to open in the third-quarter of 2018, while the northbound highway, towards MacRitchie Viaduct, will open in the first-quarter of 2019. Please refer to the Annex for the plans of the two phases of openings.

3      Upon completion of the first phase, motorists travelling towards Adam Flyover and the Pan-Island Expressway will be able use the new southbound Lornie Highway to reach their destinations. The existing southbound Lornie Road will be downgraded to two lanes, to free up working space for the construction of the northbound Lornie Highway.

Revised Construction Schedule

4      The design and build tender for Lornie Highway was awarded to Swee Hong Limited in August 2013, with plans to complete the project by end-2017. The project includes the construction of a vehicular bridge spanning over the existing creeks and hillocks of Bukit Brown, and three vehicular underpasses located at the junctions of Lornie Road/Sime Road and Andrew Road/Lornie Road. Works also include converting the existing Lornie Road to dual two-lanes, and implementing active mobility infrastructure such as park connectors, and wider footpaths.   

5      The public exhumation of the affected graves was to be completed by end-2013, before construction works could begin. However, only a small number of graves were claimed by next-of-kin in 2013. In view of this, LTA extended the deadline for the next-of-kin to register their claims, until after the Qing Ming festival in 2014. Hence, public exhumation of the affected graves was only completed at the end of 2014 – a year later than originally scheduled.

Financial Restructuring for Main Contractor

6      In addition, main contractor Swee Hong also faced financial difficulties in 2014, which slowed work on the project. Swee Hong then obtained a court order in February 2015, to propose a Scheme of Arrangement to implement a debt restructuring plan, which took effect in November 2015. This allowed the pace of work to be resumed.

7      When Swee Hong first informed LTA of its financial situation in October 2014, LTA carefully considered the situation and the possible recourses. As Swee Hong had been upfront about its situation, presented a sound recovery plan, and took all the necessary steps to restructure financially, LTA decided to retain the contractor on good faith. LTA also took into consideration that the contractor had, with the support of many local subcontractors and suppliers, kept works going safely albeit at a slower pace as they underwent restructuring.

8      Terminating the current contract and calling another tender would have led to further project delay, loss of public monies and also negatively impact the local subcontractors and suppliers engaged by Swee Hong.

9      Swee Hong has since fully paid off its debts in July 2017 and the Scheme of Arrangement has since come to an end. Swee Hong, together with the support of the subcontractors, has also deployed additional manpower to accelerate the works. The company is on track to complete the project by first-quarter of 2019.

10     LTA is closely monitoring the works on-site to ensure that the contractor meets the project’s revised completion timeline safely, and in a manner that meets construction standards.