HOMEGROWN Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure Ltd has become the first and only local firm to clinch a deal to build a stretch of Singapore's most expensive road.

The company beat the only other shortlisted bidder - a joint venture between Germany's Ed Zublin and Singapore Piling - to clinch the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) deal for $305 million.

Its winning bid was half what its rival submitted.

Hock Lian Seng will build about 1km of five-lane dual carriageway, with slip road connections to Maxwell Road. Its portion of the MCE works also involves reclaiming 9.1 hectares of land from the sea at Marina Wharf.

So far, over $4 billion worth of contracts have been awarded for the 5km largely underground-undersea MCE - an expressway which links the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway to Ayer Rajah Expressway.

It is by far Singapore's costliest road project. Its other civil contracts were secured by Japanese and Korean builders.

Construction has started, and the road is expected to be completed by 2013.