HyD shares details on innovative construction methods for Passenger Clearance Building at HZMB Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities with construction industry (with photos)
The Director of Highways, Mr Daniel Chung, today (January 10) attended the Inaugural Conference of the Construction Innovation and Technology Application Centre at the Construction Industry Council (CIC). Mr Chung spoke to local and overseas industry leaders on HyD and the engineering team's innovative ideas and application of new technology in implementing the construction of the Passenger Clearance Building (PCB) of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF).
Speaking at the conference, Mr Chung said, "The PCB is a highlight of the construction of the HKBCF on full utilisation of innovative construction methods. The project team has successfully adopted an innovative method for the construction of the PCB roof, by using large-scale prefabricated modules which could achieve faster construction progress, enhance the quality of works and reduce the risk of working at height."
Mr Chung added that the PCB is close to Hong Kong International Airport - one of the busiest airports in the world - and its design and construction faced various difficulties and challenges. The airport height restrictions have imposed severe constraints on the design and construction of the PCB, thus significantly affecting the construction methods and constructional plant that could be used for the works.
As an iconic building at the HKBCF of the HZMB, the PCB has a roof that has been designed with a wavy form to imitate undulating waves. The roof is supported by a few tree-like structural columns to enhance the feeling of spaciousness in the arrival and departure halls. In addition, the PCB is designed as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly infrastructure by providing natural lighting through skylights.
The PCB has a total floor area of over 90 000 square metres. Different from ordinary prefabricated modules, the roof modules are composed of not only the structural steel frame but also the pre-installed building services as well as architectural builder works and finishes, such as aluminium cladding, skylights, smoke vents, drainage, baffle ceilings and the lighting system. With this large-scale prefabrication method, most works were completed at prefabrication yards.
Mr Chung pointed out that the roof modules of the PCB are massive. The largest module is about 60 metres long and 25m wide, which is bigger than an Olympic-size swimming pool, and over 670 tonnes in weight (including supporting frames). Owing to the size and weight of the roof modules and the airport height restrictions, the delivery and installation of such huge prefabricated roof modules presented great challenges to the engineering team.
He noted that in order to tackle the challenge of the airport height restrictions concurrently, the engineering team adopted a horizontal launching method in pushing the modules into position by using horizontal hydraulic jacks to install the modules one by one and connect them together, similar to assembling toy blocks. This horizontal launching operation required a precision computerised system with very stringent technical requirements. With the unremitting efforts of the engineering team, the installation of the roof modules was successfully completed in June 2017.
The application of the aforementioned innovative technology in the construction of the PCB roof has won the Temporary Works Excellence Award 2017 (Gold Award) organised by the Development Bureau and the CIC. This resounding success was the result of the well-recognised concerted efforts by the engineering team for the HZMB project.
Mr Chung concluded his speech with a video clip of the innovative construction of the PCB roof. The video clip is available at hzmb.hk/eng/video_centre_b_04.html.
Ends/Wednesday, January 10, 2018
