Welcoming in our second full day in Singapore, we were all in high spirits and ready for our final construction day of the trip. We started the day off with a visit to an Obayashi Corp site, a Japanese contractor building a new train station for a future extension of Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). We were greeted by Mr. Fumitaka Katafuchi, a UIUC alumni and a general manager at Obayashi Singapore, who gave a quick presentation before walking around the site. Unfortunately, they have a strict no photography policy on site so accompanying visuals will be a bit scarce.
To start off, Obayashi was established in 1892 and is headquartered in Tokyo. They are one of Japan’s top five major general contractors, a title they hold due to being one of the only 5 GC’s to operate their own research lab in Japan. They are an international company with a large network of subsidiaries all over the world and an annual global revenue of around $15 billion USD. In the US specifically they have had an office in California since 1979 and have worked on projects that include a seismic retrofit of the Golden Fate Bridge as well as the completion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge.
Moving into Singapore specifically, they are still within one of the type 5 general contractors by revenue on the island. They are involved in healthcare and science facilities, housing developments, and public infrastructure projects. Some distinguishing projects in Singapore include Changi Airport terminal 5, Treasury Building, and the Ocean Financial Center.In 2024, they have also established their first overseas R&D lab in Singapore where they are focusing on robotics, automation, and clean-energy solutions. Some of these include research into robotic inspections of work sites, software to compare BIM modeling with a live video, and exploring opportunities to use hydrogen to replace diesel generators on construction sites.
For this project, they are currently 1.5 years into development of a new train station and line. The project is estimated to finish in 2032 and will include an underground train station reaching depths of 50 meters, 30 meter diameter twin tunnels each about 1.4 kilometers, as well as roadworks connecting to the station itself. The station will sit on what was previously a horse racing track which was moved elsewhere due to Singapore’s mission of land optimization due the limited space on the island.
When touring the site, Obayashi was running a really smooth and organized project with face-ID recognition systems on the entrances as well as an intrusion automated system that sent notifications to the team whenever someone entered the site. They were under way of excavation for the station itself with the slab expected to be poured by the end of the month. We were able to see the heavy machinery being used up close as well as learn about the specifics about the excavation process being used. We also got to learn a lot more about the safety standards for both Obayashi as well as Singapore which would rival a lot of sites back home, especially due to the high heat and heavy rain they experience year round. All in all the site visit was very rewarding and the Obayashi team did a really great job in engaging with our questions. It was also an amazing surprise to hear first hand from an alumni who has had a successful international career in construction and gain some insight into what can await us if we so choose to pursue a similar career path.
Blog by Luis Castro