Engineering a New Future of Cavern Development in Hong Kong

Cavern development in Hong Kong is entering a new era, from a narrow range of uses in the past to the recent widespread applications in the territory. Rock caverns are now engineered to become a viable source of land supply for sustainable development in Hong Kong. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has launched a territory-wide Cavern Master Plan, expanded the list of land uses suitable for cavern development in the planning guidelines, selected a group of municipal facilities for relocation to caverns, and implemented other enabling measures with a view to unleashing the full potential of the sustainable multi-dimensional land development approach. In recent years, with the aid of these initiatives, the use of caverns is no longer limited to the “not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) facilities but expands to a broader spectrum of land uses. This paper gives an overview of the holistic strategy to direct a new future of cavern development in Hong Kong and provides an update on the progress of various initiatives, including two new caverns projects in the pipeline, viz. the relocation of the Public Works Central Laboratory and the development of the Government Records Service’s Archives Centre. To enable the projects to be delivered in a cost-effective manner within a tight schedule, many novel ideas have been adopted in the planning of these new facilities, including adoption of innovative construction and procurement methods to fast-track the programme. Application of new advanced technologies such as vibration resistance sprayed concrete lining and digital rock mass characterization will also be discussed.