Leighton Asia News, October 2004 - Leighton Holdings

Massive excavation project
progressing well
Land has always been at a premium in Hong Kong. On one Leighton
project, fill is being dumped continually along one side of a major
landfill, whilst rock is simultaneously being excavated and removed
for reclamation works from the other.
The SENT landfill in the New Territories –
one of Hong Kong’s three strategic landfills
– is one of the largest in the world.
Green Valley Ltd has contracted Leighton
to excavate and remove 270,000 bank cubic
meters of soft materials and 1,500,000
bank cubic meters of hard materials, mainly
by blasting, over a period of two years. The
project also includes extensive site formation.
The excavated material is then hauled to
the waterline so that it can be transported
by barge to various reclamation sites in
Hong Kong.
Leighton’s Dan Lam said that the major
challenge was to maintain a continuous
supply of hard materials to the external
parties, regardless of any adverse
weather conditions.
“To maintain the daily production for hard
materials haulage, we had to modify our
traditional ‘top down’ excavation method.
We established an excavation face at the
lower level and built a haul road which is
able to operate during the rainy days,”
he said.
“Another challenge is coordinating the third
parties involved in the daily barging operation.
The excavated rocks are loaded onto barges
that are under the control of others, so
coordination with them is also the key to the
success of the project,” he added.
The system is working well. Leighton recently
achieved the second milestone for the project,
which included:
> confirming the soil investigations;
> excavating the first 350,000 cubic metres
of hard materials; and
> excavating 100,000 cubic metres of
soft materials, and all slope drains.
Other works including the complete
formation, construction of the pumphouse
and groundwater diversion trenches, and
modifying the existing sedimentation
basin culvert, will be completed by the end
of 2005.