Technical Seminar on Land Reclamation for our airport

Written by Ir LAU Chun-chung

This technical seminar was presented by Ir Daman Lee, General Manager of the
Third Runway Division of the Hong Kong Airport Authority responsible for the
reclamation works for the Three-Runway System Development of the Hong Kong
Airport.
Ir Lee first introduced to us about the background of the current Chek Lap Kok
(CLK) airport. The airport, commenced operation in 1998, served 68.5 million
passengers, handled 4.38 million tonnes of cargo and accommodated 406,000
air traffic movements in 2015. It is a leading international and regional aviation
hub, situated over the former islands of Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau
encompassing an area of over 1,255 hectares, of which three-quarters were
reclaimed land.
The proposed expansion into the Three-Runway System involves land
reclamation of approximately 650 hectares, including 270 hectares on
contaminated mud pits, to accommodate the Third Runway Concourse with a
floor area of around 283,000m2.
Ir Lee then presented the history of reclamation works and the construction of the
CLK airport with the fully dredged reclamation method. He listed out the different
works and construction equipment involved such as trailer suction hopper
dredger for the dredging and marine sand filling works. He also mentioned about
the various types of ground improvements methods that were applied, including
rolling surcharge and vibro-compaction to satisfy the residual settlement
requirements.
Ir Lee elaborated on the different site constraints for the proposed expansion that
involves a completely non-dredge reclamation method. The major constraint was
the environmental concern from the contaminated mud pits within the
development footprint. He then explained the conventional methods of soft
ground improvement, such as PVD and stone columns are not preferable for
treating the contaminated mud pits as they would help the seepage of
contaminated materials to the surface. Ir Lee introduced the Deep Cement
Mixing (DCM) method, a process by which cement slurry is mixed into the ground
to produce DCM column with improved strength by solidifying the contaminated
mud. Ir Lee concluded the presentation with the oncoming challenges for the
whole three-runway system development such as heavy constraint with the
existing airport operation during construction.
(347 words)
The seminar is well attended by members
Ir Kenneth Cheung (R) is presenting souvenir to Ir Daman Lee (L)