physical
challenge
land reclamation
Land reclamation projects off
the coast of Bahrain and Dubai have been
making a big noise around the globe for a
few years now, from the Durrat Al Bahrain
resort to The World and The Palm Trilogy.
What few people realise is the extent to
which such developments are created “from
scratch”, literally built up from the sea bed
to form artificial land masses, according to
whatever specification a client may have.
40
Natural forces
“Essentially, the islands are
piles of sand in the sea, so
we need to figure out what
needs to be done in order to
be able to install services on
them and build villas, roads
and a hotel.... it’s like building
permanent six-storey sand
castles in the sea”
Richard Hill
When you are tasked
with building some of
the world’s most iconic
creations in a region of
the world where solid
foundations are few and
far between, there’s
really only one choice:
develop land where there
wasn’t any before.
The Durrat Al Bahrain resort was among
the first large-scale land reclamation projects
to be introduced along the Bahrain coast.
The fact that it was viewed as something
unique in the region was clear from the
choice of name itself, which translates as
“Pearl of Bahrain”.
Atkins was commissioned to
produce the masterplan, on the back
of which the company was awarded
the contract for design supervision and
project management of the Durrat Al
Bahrain Resort Project, including marine,
infrastructure and villa design, road
infrastructure, and overseeing delivery
of these various elements of the project.
“We produced the marine design,
which incorporated revetment and beach
design, numerical modelling to derive wave
conditions and setting the reclamation
level for the whole development based
on extreme storm events, among other
things,” explains Atkins’ ports and
maritime associate Richard Hill. “We had to
work with all the other disciplines involved
– covering aspects like the footprint for
building design, specs for the reclamation
sand, road design and position, abutment
details, revetment tie-ins and so forth.
There was a large team of people involved,
to say the least, and that needed to be
carefully co-ordinated.”
The team to which Hill refers included
specialist input from eight Atkins offices
in the Middle East and the UK. Effective,
efficient project management has been
vital to the project, and on a grand scale.
“One of Atkins’ greatest strengths
is its ability to treat a project as a project
and not to get overwhelmed by its size
or complexity,” Hill explains. “For Durrat
Al Bahrain, for example, the volume of
materials required raised some sourcing
issues, but these were overcome. Soil
investigation studies were conducted and it
was discovered that a lot of material could
be sourced from relatively close by, which
helped with the reclamation process.
“There were also areas with potential silt
deposits and soft deposits, which could have
caused issues with liquefaction or long-term
settlement, but we were able to address these
concerns early on,” he points out.
In addition, projects such as these came
under fire with regard to the environmental
impact of the work involved. There have
been claims the coastline could be damaged
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The world is your oyster
While work on Durrat Al Bahrain continues apace
– the first phase of the project is due for completion
in 2008 – land reclamation for one of the latest mega
projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also well
on its way.
The World, off the coast of Dubai, is a series of 300
island developments that, when viewed from the sky,
provides an image of a global map. This will be home
to private residences, resorts and leisure destinations
within the next four years.
One of the biggest challenges faced by
Nakheel – the Dubai construction giant behind this
development, as well as The Palm Trilogy – was finding
people with the design skills to undertake such a huge
land reclamation project. The experience Atkins had
already gained on the Durrat Al Bahrain Resort Project
meant that it was well prepared for the work involved
and when it was invited into the project, it was able to
proceed with open eyes.
“Our involvement in The World is specifically on the
Coral Island Resort,” says Hill. “We’re working through
the Dubai office supported by a team of marine, ports
and maritime specialists in the UK. We’re working
with Nakheel on the marine design, land reclamation,
beaches, coastal processes, design of the ports, marinas
and other marine features of the development.”
Nakheel has also partnered with the United Nations
University to research and manage the waters
surrounding all of its waterfront projects.
“Essentially, the islands are piles of sand in the sea,
so we need to figure out what needs to be done in
order to be able to install services on them and build
villas, roads and a hotel. We’re working from that
perspective,” says Hill.
“We have to understand the behaviour of the sand
in this environment – its particle make-up, its movement
underwater, its stability in the wave environment. We
also have to understand the protection systems that
such reclamation projects require in terms of edge,
treatment, rock armour and geo-textile, and systems
to control sediment transport and scour attack.
“Initially, our reaction was to evaluate the need for
more sand, considering the level of the island in relation
to the ‘extreme’ high water mark, then to understand
the performance under regular wave attack and storm
waves, assessing its behaviour as a consequence
of various factors, such as erosion, settlement and
liquefaction during seismic activity.
“We’re looking at all these aspects with regard to
these big piles of sand – it’s like building permanent
six-storey sand castles in the sea,” Hill says.
With so many off-the-coast projects taking shape
along the UAE coastline, it’s boom time if you are in
the business of land reclamation. But Nakheel is aware
the supply of sand available does have a limit – using
experts who will be extremely efficient is vital.
“We get the sand needed from right along the
coast,” says Ali Mansour, project director of The Palm,
Jebel Ali. “We have to make sure that the sand we
dredge is used correctly and, when it is compacted,
no mistakes are made. Nakheel works with partners
in this and we only use those with the expertise to do
the job properly.”
The right skills set
To take advantage of the popularity of developments
that require land reclamation, Hill points out, Atkins
has nurtured talent that can rise to a challenge: “We
have developed that experience in the UK, with a new,
younger team, bringing on board a designer focus on
elements like sea revetments, quay walls, breakwaters,
marinas, land reclamation and ground stability.
All of this is being used purely to support leisure
developments and the leisure market, where you
want it to look aesthetically pleasing and the enduser is essentially sitting out enjoying the sunshine
and the marine environment,” he says.
Whenever homes or villas go on sale on The Palm
Trilogy, The World or Durrat Al Bahrain, the response
is huge and there is no shortage of other investors
wanting a piece of the action. Donald Trump is
putting a hotel on The Palm, Jumeirah, while Nakheel
and Cirque du Soleil have announced plans for a
permanent show on the island.
“The World poses some interesting challenges
for everyone involved in its creation,” says Hill.
“It is 4km out to sea and there is no land link. How
do you make that work? How do you get power to
the development, where they have daily deliveries
of fresh produce and want their towels shipped out
to be cleaned and new towels brought in every day?
How do you get all that to work?
“These are just a few of the many challenges
posed by a complex project such as this and Nakheel
is dealing with them on a daily basis. Atkins is working
with Nakheel to make it a reality,” he says.
Home away from home
For those outside of the UAE or the Kingdom of
Bahrain watching these remarkable projects being
developed, of course, the first question that springs to
mind is: why? One or two iconic developments may
be understandable, but Dubai and Bahrain seem to be
going for scale across the board – why not start small
and build up to something bigger?
“If you’re going to create such islands, there’s
got to be a commercial aspect to it,” explains Hill.
“You need to ensure the number of residents and
hotels provide a certain number of people in order
for the land sale value to pay back the costs of
getting this material in place. I can’t see it being
commercially viable to try to place small islands in
the same environment.
“These projects are driven by the residential,
leisure and tourism markets, putting this part of the
Middle East on the map,” Hill points out. “At the
end of the day, they want tourists to visit this exciting
part of the world.”
A pearl of an idea
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and that the delicate balance of marine life could be
irreversibly altered.
The environmental impact of land reclamation is
something Atkins recognises as crucial in the planning
stages of a project: “Atkins was involved in the
environmental impact assessment work on Durrat Al
Bahrain right from the outset. There were a number of
mitigating features that have been built in to satisfy the
environmental concerns. We have gone to great lengths
to consider the environmental impact of the project
and to produce a quality product, considering water
movement for example.”
With a project on this scale, he adds, the marine
design and engineering element has to take pole
position, because both the contractors and the client
want to have a lot of the land formed early on.
“You have to get everything agreed by all parties
from the start,” he adds. “The legacy of the decisions
you make at the beginning are there for everyone else
to deal with throughout the project, so you need to
take on board a lot of the considerations up front.”
Durrat Al Bahrain was conceived by Durrat Khajeel Al Bahrain
(DKAB), a joint venture by Kuwait Finance House and The
Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain. At the heart of the project
was the development of a 20km2 (5km x 4km) reclaimed site, turning
it into a resort with the potential to cater to up to 60,000 people.
It is made up of 12 man-made islands, featuring 10,000 homes
ranging from city centre apartments to beach villas, as well as hotels,
a golf course, marina, shopping malls, a grand mosque and a purpose
built public beach. The first phase of the project is due for completion
in 2008, with development continuing for several years thereafter.
“One of Atkins’
greatest strengths
is its ability to treat
a project as a
project and not to
get overwhelmed by
its size or complexity”
Richard Hill