November_1965 — Page 32

Waterfront showing stage of Wanchai reclamation in the foreground. Six acres have so far been reclaimed.

Reclamation in Central Hong Kong and

Wanchai

A

SEAWALL being constructed from

just west of the Star Ferry piers across to the vehicular piers and then to the Macau Ferry wharf will allow 20 acres of valuable reclaimed land to be added to the Central District of Hong Kong. Detailed planning for the addition is now being carried out by the Public Works Department.

This work will link two completed

Central District.

stages of a scheme started in 1952. The first stage was completed in 1955 and included the area now occupied by the City Hall and the Star Ferry concourse and car park. It extended from the Naval Dockyard in the east to the line of the subway which takes pedestrians beneath Connaught Road to the Star Ferries,

The second part of the scheme was

Left is a new ferry pier under construction and one completed. The new Blake Pier is in the background.

commenced in 1957 and finished in 1959. This section was at the west- ern end of the Central District and when reclaimed formed berthing facilities for the larger ferries that ply between Hong Kong and Macau.

The new seawall is one of the standard types used in Hong Kong. The method of construction is to dredge a trench in the seabed to re- move any soft mud or silt and to get down to a firm base. This trench is then back filled with sand and on top of this a mound of rubble is dumped to form a foundation for the actual wall itself.

This wall consists of precast con- crete blocks of standard sizes varying in weight from 5 to 18 tons. These are laid on the rubble mound with the aid of divers and built up in lay- ers till they come above the surface of the water. The wall is then com- pleted with mass concrete faced with masonry and capped with a concrete coping.

a

Immediately behind the completed seawall is dumped a layer of quarry spalls or building debris to form filter and once this is in place the whole area behind the seawall can be opened as a public dump restricted to suitable material. By this method

Far East Architect & Builder November, 1965

90