Singapore’s North-South Corridor (NSC) is reportedly facing another two-year delay, with its viaduct now said to open from 2029 and its tunnel section from 2031.
There is, however, an important caveat. As of about 5.30pm on 17 September 2026, the Land Transport Authority’s official NSC project page was still displaying the previous schedule, under which the viaduct would open from 2027 and the tunnel in 2029.
The revised 2029 and 2031 dates come from recent public reporting on the project, but Goody Feed has not independently located an LTA release carrying those dates at the time of writing.
That said, a further delay would follow warnings from LTA just days earlier that difficult construction conditions had slowed parts of the massive project.
LTA Had Said It Would Update the Completion Timeline
On 12 September, LTA said the NSC had entered its most technically demanding stage, with engineers encountering harder-than-expected rock formations, underground water and other conditions that required changes to construction methods.
At that point, LTA had not announced a new opening date. Instead, it told CNA that it would provide an update on the project’s completion timeline in due course.
The viaduct itself is 8.8km long and requires more than 6,000 precast components. Installation over busy roads and existing infrastructure is largely restricted to four- to five-hour periods at night to minimise disruption to motorists and bus services.
Some foundation works at Gambas Avenue and Woodlands Avenue 8 also took longer than expected because of utility diversions and difficult ground conditions. Since viaduct construction has to happen in sequence, delays to foundations also hold up the columns and elevated sections that come afterwards.
More than 90 per cent of the viaduct’s foundation works had nevertheless been completed by September.
Tunnel Works Have Hit Rock, Water and MRT Constraints
The underground section has its own set of engineering headaches.
At Novena, part of the NSC tunnel passes extremely close to the operational North-South MRT Line, with clearance of about 1m at its narrowest point. Excavation beneath the MRT tunnels encountered fractured rock and groundwater, forcing engineers to use a slower method that digs and stabilises smaller sections one at a time.
Around Thomson, contractors found hard rock closer to the surface than expected, along with large boulders. LTA said additional rock removal and ground stabilisation were needed before excavation could safely continue.
The 21.5km NSC consists of an 8.8km viaduct, about 400m of ground-level road and a 12.3km underground tunnel. It is intended to improve connections between northern Singapore and the city while easing traffic on roads including the Central Expressway, Thomson Road and Marymount Road.
This Would Not Be the First Delay
Construction began in 2018.
The project had previously been affected by COVID-19 disruptions. In 2023, the Government announced that the viaduct would open from 2027, while the tunnel would follow in 2029.
If the newly reported 2029 and 2031 dates are confirmed by LTA, both portions would effectively move back another two years.
The official LTA project page had not reflected that change when checked on 17 September, so the revised dates should be treated as reported rather than formally verified until LTA updates its public information.
