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.
Road Structures

Related Content

  • Denmark reconsiders a Kattegat link
    May 10, 2023
    A bridge would cross the Kattegat Strait between the Jutland peninsula city of Aarhus - Denmark’s second largest city after the capital Copenhagen - and Kalundborg, a small city of 17,000 on the western shore of Zealand Island.
    Read More
  • Indonesia bridge project plans revived
    August 9, 2017
    In Indonesia plans are being drawn up for a bridge to connect Bintan Isand with Batam Island. In all the bridge connection would measure 7km long and be built in three sections: Batam - Pulau Tanjung Sauh; Pulau Tanjung Sauh - Pulau Buau; Pulau Buau – Bintan. The bridge project was proposed previously in 2005 but stalled a few years later, with financing being an issue at the time. When the work was costed back in 2009 it had a pricetag of US$350 million. However, the work will be somewhat more costly to co
    Read More
  • Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link could open by 2025 at earliest
    November 27, 2015
    The ambitious Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, connecting Denmark and Germany, will open in 2025 at the earliest, according to the Danish finance ministry. Femern A/S, the Danish government-owned company managing the project, confirmed the note from the government. It also said the ministry still has financial concerns over the deal to build an immersed tunnel connecting the towns of Rødby in Denmark’s southern Zealand with Puttgarden in northern Germany. Of particular is the time for a construction company t
    Read More
  • Cost soars for Bangladesh’s Karnaphuli River Tunnel
    April 14, 2015
    Amid concern over cost rises, Bangladesh has issued a request for expression of interest to engage a consultant for the proposed the Karnaphuli River Tunnel. The estimated cost to build the Karnaphuli Tunnel has risen by US$205 million, according to the government’s Bridge Authority. A report in the Financial Express newspaper said the original 2km tunnel proposal was prepared two years ago based on a feasibility study. According to Bridge Authority officials, the cost to build the 3.4km tunnel has ri
    Read More

Highlighted Content