PULAU MUARA BESAR BRIDGEOVER BRUNEIBAY

By Liao Bowen

PulauMuara Besar Bridge,built byChina Harbour Engineering CompanyLtd.

Pulau Muara Besar Bridge is a two-level bridge connecting Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), an island on Brunei Bay, to the mainland of Brunei via Serasa in Brunei-Muara District. The bridge is 5,915 meters long and 23 meters wide. Construction began on April 9, 2015 and was completed on May 18, 2018. It was built by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (China Harbour)for 1.27 billion yuan (US$195 million).

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful bridge,” exclaimed Liu Gongjin, a local Chinese businessman, unaware of the difficulties and challenges overcome by the designers and builders.Bridge for Development

Before the bridge opened to traffic, passengers heading from the city center of Bandar Seri Begawan to PMB had to take a 30-minute trip to the Serasa Ferry Terminal and then a 15-minute ferry ride. The small ferries also handled cargo transportation. It took considerable effort to move anything across the channel,and weather often made it impossible for anyone to make the trip.

However, PMB has been designated as a key area for Brunei’s economic development and will host some major projects planned for Brunei Vision 2035. Brunei is a small country with a small population. Its economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas development in partnership with Malaysia as well as European and American oil companies using deep-sea drilling technologies. To change the current situation and achieve sustainable development,Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has been actively seeking more comprehensive development,including infrastructure and foreign trade.

PMB is directly opposite Muara Port, Brunei’s only deepwater port. The bridge is suited for the development of a deepwater container terminal and manufacturing hub, where Brunei’sfirst crude oil refinery and aromatics cracker complex and an export processing area will be built.

After feasibility studies,the plan for the construction of PMB Bridge was finalized.Following an open tender onApril 9, 2015, the project wasawarded to China Harbour andanother subsidiary of ChinaCommunication ConstructionCompany Ltd. (CCCC).

According to design, the project will be a two-way, four-lanehighway with a designed speedlimit of 100 kilometers per hour.The main structure of the crossseabridge will be made of steel,with the net navigable height ofat least 28 meters.

Construction of the bridge was warmly welcomed by theBrunei government. “The PMBBridge will connect the islandwith the mainland of Brunei,which will represent a milestonein our economic development,”declared Yang Berhormat DatoPaduka Hj Hamzah Hj Sulaiman,Permanent Secretary at the PrimeMinister’s Offce of Brunei, in aspeech at the ground-breakingceremony. He expressed hopethat China Harbour would workwith the local enterprises tobuild a platform for exchange ofknowledge and professional skillsafter construction of the bridge.

CCCC Chairman Liu Qitao alsospoke at the ceremony. “ChinaHarbour is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of CCCC,” he noted. “Itis an important representativeof CCCC in the internationalengineering market.” Liuexpressed appreciation to theBrunei government for itsconfidence in his company andwishes to contribute more tothe economic development ofBrunei.

“The PMB Bridge will connect the island with the mainland of Brunei,which will represent a milestone in our economic development,” declared Yang Berhormat Dato Paduka Hj Hamzah Hj Sulaiman, PermanentSecretary at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei.

Painstaking Work

Chinese construction companies had not been involved in many construction projects in Brunei previously.“Made in China” was notso popular in the country.Local property owners didn’t have much confidence in the Chinese contractors.

Yang Berhormat Dato Paduka Hj Hamzah Hj Sulaiman (fourth right), Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei, and Liu Qitao (third left), chairman of China Communication Construction Company Ltd., at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Pulau Muara Besar Bridge on May 6, 2015.

Construction workers at a completion celebration for the Pulau Muara Besar Bridge on February 26, 2017.

“Atfirst, property owners didn’t show much confidence in the prospects of the project,”sighed Wu Wei, the Chinese project manager. To build the bridge, they had to build a trestlefirst, an unprecedented engineering feat in Brunei.Affected property owners doubted the bridge would be safe and avoid impacting navigation. The Chinese technicians ultimately won them over with solid work.

Although the bridge was expected to facilitate convenience and economic development, local property owners and authorities cared more about the impact of construction on their daily operations. For example, the maritime safety authority was most concerned about potential blocking of existing navigation channels.

“Our construction teams explained the building technology to property owners and demonstrated it on Muara River,” illustrated Wu. The Chinese workers needed only a few simple steps to build a stable and solid trestle across the river with steel pipe piers,beams and steel plates, which convinced property owners as well as the maritime safety and port authorities.

After easing stakeholders’concerns, the contractors faced even more daunting tasks. Construction had to meet European standards and local standards, which differ from Chinese standards in many aspects. Parties had to coordinate to devise optimal solutions, and negotiations often proved a test for construction teams.

Cooperative infrastructure projects often lead to disputes over sovereignty and concerns among local people. The PMB Bridge was a project awarded by the Brunei government through bidding. Cooperation with the local companies was pledged in the proposal phase. Building materials including steel bars,cement and aggregates were imported from China and Malaysia by local suppliers.Some tasks such as earthrock, water and power supply were subcontracted to local companies.

Before the wharf and roads were built on PMB, the island was shrouded by endless grass,shrubbery and swamps. It was very difficult to transport heavy machinery and building materials onto the island to start building.The construction teams built a sea sand wharf on a small piece of open space on its shore. At high tide, the heavy equipment and building materials were barged to the island.

In March 2016, the construction teams encountered another problem arising from an accident, when a wayward ship violently hit the trestle and platform near the main pier, resulting in extensive damage. The accident sucked the momentum out of the project. “We actually had to speed up construction to be safer,” gasped Ouyang Xiaohua,the chief project engineer.

The construction teams experimented with a new method to install the embedded parts, which improved precision and saved time. The daily work flow was optimized for the highest efficiency. To ensure work safety and order,project management set up an international safety team consisting of a Malaysian safety manager and local safety engineers. To ensure the normal operation of machinery and equipment, they employed professional maintenance specialists for routine checks and maintenance. Fragile spare parts were stocked for emergencies.

Since the project was completed, people from throughout the region have traveled to Selassa Park to see the magn ificent and delicate structure.

Unique Design

Most who have seen the PMB Bridge are impressed by its unique curve. Considering the actual needs of connectivity and construction as well as cost, the bridge adopted a nonuniform box girder scheme(box girder with variable crosssections) to enable the whole bridge to take a sharp turn at sea. This design was afirst in Asia’s history.

According to experts, at the heart of the bridge are smaller pieces composing the curves of the bridge that were sized by computers to determine the optimal strength of box girder.The closer a box girder is to the pier, the higher it is. At the span center of the bridge, the box girder is almost flat. Their heights almost double.

With these proportions, the bearing and carrying capacity of the bridge is maximized,which will not only ensure it carries the load effectively, but also reduce its own weight as much as possible and cut cost.However, the design posed a challenge for the construction teams.

By adjusting the equipment,processing the steel wheel and track and determining the height of the box girder,the construction teams successfully installed the widest single box girder in Asia, laying groundwork for the bridge erection contraption to make a sharp left at sea to complete installation of the curve section smoothly. The key technology of “horizontally curved wide box girder” met the operational requirements of various working conditions and solved the problems in construction of the curve section of the bridge.

“During that period, we all worked extra hours, from 8 in the morning till 10 at night,”recalled Tang Daijin, deputy project manager. “At critical stages, all technicians and workers were standing by 24 hours a day.”

The unique design of the PMB Bridge is also visually stunning. The bridge crosses the sea in the rainy and humid climate of the tropics.Erosion and extreme weather conditions such as typhoons are its prime adversaries.The unique design reduced horizontal stress and weight to enhance safety.

Since the project was completed, people from throughout the region have traveled to Selassa Park to see the magnificent and delicate structure. The bridge connects the mainland of Brunei to PMB, which will promote the economic development of the country and elevate the reputation of “Made in China”in Kalimantan.