Skanska to construct pipe tunnel in Bangkok for SEK 140 M

Skanska to construct pipe tunnel in Bangkok for SEK 140 M

Skanska won a contract in heavy international competition to construct a tunnel for high-voltage cables in central Bangkok, Thailand, using an advanced pipe-jacking technique.

The project is valued at SEK 800 M and is being carried out in a consortium with Japanese Sumitomo and ITD of Thailand. SEK 350 M of the contract amount pertains to the tunnel work, of which Skanska's portion is 40%. The customer is the electricity distributor MEA in Bangkok. Sumitomo is delivering and installing all electrical equipment, valued at SEK 450 M.

Approximately 80% of the project is being financed through a loan from the Nordic Investment Bank and export credits from Japan.

Skanska's subsidiary, Skanska Lundby, is constructing the 8-kilometer tunnel in cooperation with ITD. The tunnel will have a diameter of 2.6 meter and will be constructed through so-called pipe jacking. Through applying this trenchless method, streets and roads will not have to be dug up. As a result, the effect on traffic is minimized.

Work in central Bangkok is being started immediately. The tunnel work is projected to require three years.

Skanska Lundby qualified for this new project through completion of five pipe-jacking contracts for the same customer during the past four years. These projects, which were based on Skanska Lundby's internally developed pipe-jacking technology, were valued at a total of SEK 350 M, of which Skanska's portion was 40%.

Stockholm, April 19, 1999

SKANSKA AB
Group Communication

For additional information, contact:
Thomas Pehrson, Vice President Skanska International Civil Engineering AB, telephone +46 8 753 80 00, or
Ingvar Fyhr, President Skanska Lundby, telephone +66 2 617 13 61.