Skip to main content

Feasibility study of proposed US$4.52bn Sumatra-Malaysia undersea tunnel

A 17.5km undersea tunnel may be built to link Karimum Island in Sumatra's Riau and Kukup in Johor's Pontian (Malaysia). A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been sealed by Pelalawan Regency of Indonesia's Riau Province and University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to study the tunnel’s feasibility. The Johor-Riau undersea tunnel link is expected to cost US$4.52 billion (MYR 15 billion). The build figure would be cheaper than an earlier proposal to construct the Dumai (Indonesia)-Malacca (Malaysia) bridge w
January 22, 2014 Read time: 1 min
A 17.5km undersea tunnel may be built to link Karimum Island in Sumatra's Riau and Kukup in Johor's Pontian (Malaysia).  

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been sealed by Pelalawan Regency of Indonesia's Riau Province and University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to study the tunnel’s feasibility.

The Johor-Riau undersea tunnel link is expected to cost US$4.52 billion (MYR 15 billion). The build figure would be cheaper than an earlier proposal to construct the Dumai (Indonesia)-Malacca (Malaysia) bridge worth around $13.306 billion (MYR 44.3 billion), Dean of UTM's Construction Research Alliance Professor Doctor Muhd Zaimi Abd Majid said.

Several bridges will also be constructed as part of the Johor-Riau Link project to link the undersea tunnel with islands off the Riau waters.

On top of that, the project's undersea construction would not affect the flow of commercial ships on the Straits of Malacca, added Professor Doctor Abd Majid.

Related Content

  • Ground penetrating radar used to investigate tunnel deterioration
    May 13, 2015
    Using ground penetrating radar to determine reason for serious pavement settling in Kentucky-Tennessee tunnel Just a few years after the opening of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, highway officials noticed moderate to severe settling of the continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The mountain tunnel provides an important link between Kentucky and Tennessee along US25E and the problem looked serious, with many voids discovered beneath the pavement surface. To investigate the problems, the Kentucky Transpor
  • More financial doubt over proposed Fehmarn Belt Tunnel
    March 17, 2017
    The proposed Fehmarn Belt Tunnel to link Denmark and northern Germany will never be economically viable, according a report commissioned by German ferry operator Scandilines. Revenue and traffic forecasts are unrealistically high, notes the report completed by German consultancy DIW Econ. It is unlikely that the latest cost to build the massive road tunnel, around €7.4 billion, would ever be recovered. The Fehmarn Belt is a strait between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Cur
  • Italy’s Messina Strait bridge design approved
    February 21, 2024
    The design has been approved for Italy’s Messina Strait bridge mega project.
  • Indonesian toll roads
    August 13, 2012
    ijaya Karya (Wika), the Indonesian governmentowned construction service provider, will build toll roads linking Kedung Badak to Kedung Halang and Pandaan to Gempol in Bogor through two contracts worth US$36.35 million and $24 million, respectively. Awarded by highways operator Jasa Marga (JSMR), the contracts require the roads completion in 18 months. The operator of the Tangerang- Merak Toll Road, Marga Mandala Sakti (Marga Mandala), will be allocating U$17 million to increase the toll road’s capacity. It