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

  • Massive Malaysia tunnel project proposed
    December 8, 2023
    A massive Malaysian tunnel project is being proposed.
  • Multi-million dollar investment in Indonesian road toll projects
    July 12, 2012
    Millions of US dollars are being poured into new and expanding toll road projects in Indonesia. Wijaya Karya (Wika), the Indonesian government-owned construction service provider, will build toll roads linking Kedung Badak to Kedung Halang and Pandaan to Gempol in Bogor through two contracts worth US$36.35million (IDR 340.80bn) and US$23.98million (IDR 225bn), respectively. Awarded by highways operator Jasa Marga (JSMR), the contracts require the roads completion in 18 months.
  • The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, another Danish connection
    June 20, 2017
    The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel between Denmark and Germany is both ambitious and innovative, explains Susanne Kalmar Pedersen, project director at design engineering firm Ramboll, adviser to the client Fehmarn A/S. The ambitious Fehmarnbelt Tunnel - one of Europe’s largest ongoing infrastructure projects - is a priority project within the EU’s Trans European Network (TEN-T) programme. It will link the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland. The tunnel is an 18km immersed combined road and rail l
  • Golden opportunities in the MINT - Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey
    May 21, 2015
    Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey – Global Report offers up some food for thought about where smart money might be headed within the next several years – David Arminas writes China’s rate of growth may be slowing down, but other South East Asian companies are being quick to offer alternate investment opportunities, notably Indonesia. Nigeria, too, has had issues with security of investment. But there are signs that the government may be getting serious at last about tightening up rules and regulation