Uploaded on 2014-10-15 by Hengky

[1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1413335042774318.jpg I took this photo during a trip earlier this year to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a conference. It shows a worksite of a project undertaken by the KL government to build a Mass Rapid Transit System (Klang Valley MRT). The site is being used to launch and receive tunnel boring machines (TBM). The actual machine is not visible in the picture and one should consider the TBM as a whole construction process rather than on a single machine. The TBM method for building tunnels is a very specialised area of construction with many risks involved given that there are many unknown conditions in working underground. The machine itself is manufactured overseas (Germany) and delivered (so it can be seen as a construction material that is not produced locally). But other than the machine, the project team planning, designing and supervising the project will also require the necessary expertise and experience. The engineering design firm and the professional engineers who are from these firms also comprises many who are not locals. The conference that I attended was organized as a session for the project team to share their insights and challenges behind the project and also for others overseas to share theirs and how it might be useful to this project. Participants for the conference also comes from all parts of the world. Hence for specialised construction works, the globalised nature of construction would be even more evident, although it would not take the form of raw materials like sand or steel import but more in the form of technology and expertise. Such specialised projects with technology and expertise import will similarly carry a price tag, but often, the local government and planning officials have to carry out the necessary evaluation to determine the costs and benefits.