TE2 – Tunnelling Construction

Dr. Sigl graduated as Diploma Engineer (MSc) in 1985 from the Technical University of Graz (Austria), in geotechnics and soil mechanics and in 1991 he achieved the PhD in mining engineering at the Mining University of Leoben (Austria). Oskar’s 30 years of experience cover a wide range of projects such as subways, railways, roads, power transmission cables, sewerage mains, underground storage schemes and caverns. Oskar has been working in Singapore since 1997, where he was involved in the detailed design of almost all major underground infra structure projects. This includes the MRT lines, high voltage transmission cable tunnels, underground expressways and deep sewer tunnels. Outside of Singapore, Dr. Sigl was involved in leading roles in the design of underground transportation systems in Dubai, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur as well as the design of underground oil and fuel storage cavern schemes in Saudi Arabia, India and the UAE.

Mr Ow Chun Nam has over 40 years of experience in public infrastructure projects, specialising in deep excavations, mechanised and mined tunnelling. He has seen through various rail and road projects including the North-East Line, Circle Line, Downtown Line and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway. He presently leads LTA’s Tunnelling sub-Group in the construction of the Thomson-East Coast Line and the upcoming Cross-Island Line. Chun Nam has been a Professional Engineer (Civil) registered with the Singapore Professional Engineers Board since 1983. He is also an Honorary Member and ex-President of the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Society Singapore (TUCSS) and ex-Executive Council Member of the International Tunnelling Association (ITA). In the course of his career, he has served as an advisor to SP PowerAssets Limited for the Transmission Cable Tunnel Project and to PUB for the Stamford Diversion Canal and PUB’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) Phase 2. Currently, he is a senior technical advisor at Obayashi Corporation. 

Jim Yee graduated from the Nanyang Technological of University Singapore with a Degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) in 2002. He embarked on his civil engineering career in supervision and subsequently in design of underground structures and tunnelling works. He joined the Land Transport Authority Singapore (LTA) in 2015. Throughout his 19 years of working experience, he was involved in the design and supervision, tendering and award as well as project implementation in tunnelling works. Past tunnelling projects include Circle Line 4, Downtown Line 2, Downtown Line 3, Thomson-East Coast Line C2, which involved the deployment of both Slurry and EPB TBM. He is currently seconded to MSI Global Pte Ltd as principal consultant in PUB DTSS 2 projects on tunnelling and tunnel related construction works.

Ramesh joined the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 1993 upon graduating with 2nd Class Honours from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He holds a MSc (Civil Engineering) from NUS and has been awarded the NSTB (Now called A*STAR) gold medal in 1997. Ramesh is currently Deputy Director of the LTA Tunnelling Team, leading a group of over 30 staff to manage the tunnelling works. He was involved in numerous projects during his career, and has vast experience working with both Slurry and Earth Pressure Balanced Tunnel Boring Machines). His MRT construction experiences was accumulated through the wide range scope of managing North East Line, Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, Circle Line 4, Downtown Line 3 and the recent Thomson–East Coast line right from the initial design, tendering, awarding of civil contracts and project implementation. He is currently involved in the upcoming North East Line Extension and proposed Cross Island Line.

A graduate Mining Engineer & Tunnelling Industry professional with over 32 years’ experience in all aspects of tunnel construction and management. A practitioner with over 16 years spent working for multinational main contractors on tunnelling projects in Europe, Asia and Africa. This has been followed by over 15 years working for the client / developer LTA as part of a team responsible for the construction of underground rail systems within Singapore. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Honours Degree from Imperial Collage, is a Chartered Civil Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineers. He is a committee member of ICE Singapore where he is Geotechnical & Tunnels interest group lead. Project involvement in Singapore: NEL (Contractor), DTSS (Contractor), Link-Sewer (Contractor) CCL5, SPPG Cable Tunnel (advisory), DTL2, TEL5&6, CCL6 (Design & Tender), TELe (Design), CRL1.

Dr Veeresh has 20 years of experience in Geotechnical Engineering in areas of Design of deep excavations, Bored tunnels, NATM tunnels temporary support in soils and rocks, deep foundations, shallow foundations, and stabilization of slopes and soil improvement techniques. He worked for the various projects in several countries which include Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India and he worked with Clients, Contractors and consultants . He holds Master of Technology in geotechnical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras India. and a Doctor of Philosophy from Indian Institute of Technology. Dr Veeresh has co-authored about 29 technical publications in journals and conferences.

In 20 years of his career at Raito Kogyo Co. Ltd., a leading geotechnical contractor in Japan, he has worked as a technical specialist in construction management, technical development, and technical studies for slope stabilisation works. He was also involved in land slide prevention and ground improvement, which include tunnel-related works. 

He was also an inventor and contributed to the development of several patented technologies in the slope stabilisation field. As a collaborative researcher, he has two years of experience supporting the landslide team of the Public Works Research Institute, Japan. In Japan, he is a professional engineer in soil mechanics and foundations and is an international member of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. He holds a bachelor of civil engineering from Hokkaido University, a master of structural and geotechnical engineering from Hokkaido University, and a PhD in engineering from Kobe University.