CEEQUAL Whole Team Award
Version 5, May 2014 | Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Client: Water Supplies Department (WSD), Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;
Designer: Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd.
Contractor: Law Chi Yip Construction Company Ltd.
Assessor: Tammy Tse (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd.)
Project Summary
The Salt Water Supply System for Pok Fu Lam Area is a design and construction supervision assignment commissioned by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, for a new salt water supply system serving the Pok Fu Lam area of Hong Kong Island. The project was commissioned in July 2007. Upon completion of the project, the system will supply salt water, instead of fresh water for flushing, to the Pok Fu Lam area every day and is expected to save substantial amount of fresh water a day.
The project comprises:
- Construction of Telegraph Bay Salt Water Pumping Station and the associated sea water intake culvert at Telegraph Bay seafront area;
- Construction of Wah Fu Salt Water Service Reservoir near Wah Fu Estate;
- Construction of Wah Fu Salt Water Pumping Station near Wah Fu Estate;
- Construction of Pok Fu Lam Salt Water Service Reservoir on the hill behind Pok Fu Lam Village;
- Laying of the associated salt water mains; and
- All the associated civil, structural, geotechnical, electrical and mechanical works including site formation, rock excavation, landscaping, permanent and temporary accesses which are necessary for the completion of the works.
Challenges and Achievements
People and Communities
The project’s nature itself is creating wider social benefits by reducing potable water consumption. Public facilities were improved by incorporating part of the open space of the Telegraph Bay site into the adjacent Cyberport Park for amenity purpose.
A number of consultation meetings were held by the client, designer and contractor with different parties during the different phases of the project, including the District Council members and the residents in the district to inform them on the potential impacts of the project.
Potential effects on neighbours were identified by conducting various impact assessments during construction and operational stage including noise pollution, air pollution, water quality, waste, cultural heritage, landscape and visual and ecology. Various measures were incorporated into the construction and operational processes to mitigate effects on neighbours on visual, dust, and noise.
In particular, the use of acoustic roller shutter in the pump hall demonstrated the use of innovative solutions for nuisance mitigation in minimising the noise impact to the nearby area. The selection of external finish of the Telegraph Bay Salt Water Pumping Station allows the pumping station to blend into the adjacent development.
The Historic Environment
Although there are no archaeological remains within the development area, four masonry bridges located at the main access road to the Pok Fu Lam site were identified. Soon after the commencement of the project, these bridges were announced as Declared Monuments and the project was suspended to carry out protection measures to the bridges. Temporary bridge mitigation works were put in place to minimise damage, including adding structural support by steel and also controlling the traffic of heavy vehicle trucks during construction. The protection works to the bridges was performed by professional structural engineers and monitored by a history professional from the statutory organisation.
How did CEEQUAL influence your project?
The CEEQUAL assessment has provided an opportunity for us to measure the sustainability of this project and compare it with other projects. We have adopted the lessons learned from this assessment and are investigating on how to improve the sustainability performance of our future projects.
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