AECOM was appointed by MTRC to carry out preliminary design agreements NEX 2001 and NEX 2202 for the MTR Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project. Based on the 2008 Railway Merger scheme, the link is a 17km long railway connecting the Ma On Shan Line from Tai Wai Station to the Hong Kong Island Line at Admiralty Station. The scheme consists of 5 new stations at Kai Tak, To Kwa Wan, Ma Tau Wai, Ho Man Tin and Exhibition (Wan Chai). Upgrades will also be made to integrate 4 existing stations with SCL at Tai Wai, Diamond Hill, Hung Hom and Admiralty. The entire railway will be built on soft ground and hard rock tunnels below the Lion Rock Country Park, East Kowloon and Wan Chai and includes a 2km long cross harbour immersed tunnel. Particular challenges in the design and construction of the new railway include upgrading the 4 existing stations while maintaining uninterrupted railway service and tunnelling in densely populated areas and below Victoria Harbour.
The preliminary design consists of two separate agreements covering the 11km Tai Wai to Hung Hom section and the 6km Hung Hom to Admiralty section including the immersed tunnel across the harbour. HKSAR Government estimates the capital cost of the SCL project to be HK$37.4B. Construction is expected to commence in 2010 with completion for the Kowloon and Hong Kong sections to be 2015 and 2019 respectively.