Arup has won the 12th Tien-yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prize organised by the China Civil Engineering Society for its work on the Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel.

As the project consultant, Arup carried out the design, pre-qualification, tender and construction supervision for the project.

The Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel is the biggest flood prevention project ever implemented in Hong Kong. It comprises 11km long main tunnel from Tai Hang to Cyberport, with an internal diameter ranging from 6.25m to 7.25m. It has 8km of adits and 34 intakes to intercept upland flows from existing streams and drainage system at Mid-Levels. The collected runoff will be discharged directly into the sea, significantly alleviating the flooding risk in Central and Western District as well as Wanchai District.

Arup brought in a number of innovative solutions that significantly reduced construction time and cost.  The Tunnel sets numerous records for the city – it is the first one in Hong Kong to carry out TBM excavation and adit blasting concurrently, and pioneered the extensive use of raise boring method for dropshaft excavation. The technical breakthroughs not only facilitated the project, but also minimised the impact on residents, traffic and the environment during construction and created a safer working environment.

The Tien-yow Jeme Award is the top honour for civil engineering and construction in China. The awards are given to projects featuring distinction in innovation and technical advancement.

A total of 28 projects in 11 categories were granted the accolade this year.