Sep 2005 - Parsons Brinckerhoff

ALL PHOTOS THIS SPREAD © 2005 DAVID SAILORS
Dr. Yan Wang, working on projects
for the 2008 Olympics, is not
new to the games, having done
planning in Atlanta in 1996.
The Beijing Olympic Green
Indoor Sport/Media and
Convention Center, for which
PB is doing mechanical and
electrical consulting.
high-speed line relieve overcrowding
on existing rail, it will
offer speedy travel to commuters
and others who need modern
and efficient transportation to
partake fully in the flourishing
Chinese economy. Construction,
expected to begin this year,
will take four years at a cost of
$4 billion. PB’s Project Manager
is Mike Gillam, who will lead
an initial team of five PB professionals.
Among those responsible
for winning the contract was Xie
Jing, Infrastructure Manager for
North China.
“Just as it did at the turn
of the 20th century, PB is helping
provide state-of-the-art rail
transportation for China in the
21st century,” says O’Neill. “The
Zhengzhou to Xi’an high-speed
rail is one of China’s largest
transportation projects and
employs high-speed technology
that will certainly challenge
our engineers and technical
specialists.”
PB is working on transportation planning, including bus rapid transit,
for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Olympian Efforts
Beijing is proud to be the site
of the 2008 Summer Olympic
Games. PB is on several project
teams mobilizing the host city.
One is the Beijing Olympic
Green Area Transportation Plan
for during and after the Games
for the Beijing General Municipal
Engineering Design and Research
Institute. PB executed the entire
games-period transportation plan
for the 1,215-hectare (3,000-
acre) Olympic Green, led by PB
Technical Advisor Dick Fleming,
based in Sydney, site of the 2000
Olympics. “PB,” says Fleming,
“worked closely with local planners
on a strategy that embraces
travel and security needs of
diverse user groups so transportation
in Beijing 2008 will be a
standout success.”
Dr. Yan Wang, Manager of
the Planning and ITS (Intelligent
Transportation Systems)
Department in PB’s Beijing office
and who participated in planning
the transportation in Atlanta
for the 1996 Olympics, served
as PB Project Manager for the
Beijing project. She worked with
Fleming, then led the charge for
post-game planning for Olympic
Green and its environs, which
includes strategic planning for
transit as well as parking. “We
brought foreign Olympic success
and lessons learned to Beijing,”
says Wang, noting that “PB is
the only U.S. company that has
participated in 2008 transportation
planning.” The firm is also
mechanical and electrical consultant
on the Beijing Olympic
Green Indoor Sport/Media and
Convention Center.
Sustainable Development
Last year, Beijing staff and clients
attended PB’s sustainable development
training for transit (led
by Susanna Kerr-Adler and Ray
Hornbuckle, both from the U.S.).
Says Wang: “Sustainable planning
is the hottest issue on the market.
As energy, water and air quality
issues continue raising concerns
and more government regulations
come into play, this market will
become more attractive.”
Wind power has taken off
on Nan’ao Island, in southeast
China, with its coastal winds—
and several wind farms. For the
subsidiary of the China Huaneng
Group planning a 100-MW wind
farm there, PB Power conducted
a wind resource assessment. Led
by Achim Hoehne, Wind Power
Group Engineering Manager,
PB monitored 30 locations,
noting considerable wind speed
variation. Conclusion: Turbines
should not be evenly distributed
but concentrated on the island’s
southern section for optimum
efficiency.
China’s Mega Growth
China is leading Asia’s economic
growth and PB is creating its
own role in China’s future.
Dr. Patrick Lun notes, “Since
1984, when PB provided engineering
services for the five-star
China Hotel in Guangzhou, we
have held to our policy of sharing
our knowledge with local
engineers via technology transfer
and localization of our staff.”
According to Lun, local residents
account for 80 percent of total
staff for PB in China.
Project management tools
and techniques, notes Lun, along
with safety and risk management
practices, are introduced by PB
on major infrastructure including
the current key rail projects.
“This is new to our China staff
and clients alike,” says Lun. For
example, says Cheng Zhong
Hang, Chief Supervising Engineer,
Shanghai Metro Yang Pu (M8)
Line, “PB brings in advanced
technical and management skills
for the project, the training for
our staff and great help during
the construction—all very much
appreciated.”
And there are benefits to
PB’s staff, as Lun points out: “We
offer our staff the chance to work
on world-class projects. China
offers great opportunities for PB
for many decades to come. We
are well placed to meet these
challenges. PB is committed to
China.”
China’s economic growth is
eye-popping. As Hawksworth
Dr. Patrick Lun, Deputy Chief
Operating Officer of PB Asia-
Pacific and Manager of PB’s
Greater China Region, says
China offers great opportunities
for PB for decades to come.
explains, “Growth of over 4
percent in a developing market
suggests there is a good market
for foreign consultants. Economic
growth of 8 to 9 percent—as
in China—indicates very extensive
opportunities,” he says. “In
China, the people are proud of
their own capability and want
access to the best technology, to
acquire expertise and experience
of firms like PB. Technology
transfer allows a local office to
provide PB’s expertise to clients.”
Hawksworth summarizes PB’s
success in China. “We’ve made
some inroads in the infrastructure
sector in design and program or
project management for metros
in Shanghai and Shenzhen. We’ve
provided MEP design services to
more super high-rise buildings
than any other international
firm. And we’ve been modestly
successful in program management
for industrial facilities like
the Xizi Otis Elevator Company
factory in Hangzhou.”
China Tomorrow
A streamlined train speeding
past a pedicab, a high-rise
dwarfing ancient dwellings,
high-tech systems controlling a
melange of traffic from bicycles
to buses to over-laden open
trucks. China is accelerating
and PB is contributing to that
progress. •
Cranes dotting the skyline
indicate new buildings and
the infrastructure that will
be necessary to lift China
to new heights.
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