Utility lines going safely below ground on Wanshan

Construction has commenced on Wanshan Island of the first offshore underground utility tunnel in Zhuhai. The centralized duct system will contain water and power supply, sewage, and communications pipelines.

Using advanced technologies, all municipal tubes will be placed inside the tunnel under unified plan, design, construction, and management standards. The tunnel is to withstand earthquakes, typhoons, frost, erosion, and other natural forces.

Furthermore, the development will allow room for additions and maintenance for the next 50 years. The process will be trenchless without heavy impact on roads or the environs, according to a project leader.

Wanshan Island utility tunnel [Photo by Cheng Lin / Zhuhai Daily]

The project is equivalent to the near-shore underground utility tunnel in Hengqin New Area. At 33.4 km, the systematic integrated Hengqin tunnel will be the first of its kind in soft floodplain soil.

Smaller in size due to intensive land use, the 1.3-km Wanshan opening will be 1.6 m high and 2.2 m wide. Further restrained by geography, engineers have to excavate beneath narrow roads, using innovative technologies, said the project leader.

The artery will deliver the "lifeblood" for Wanshan Island's economic and social operations, as it will support future municipal construction projects, said a local official.