THREE HD ENGINEERING DRILL rigs are being used to allow Bilfinger and Berger, the main contractor for a water pipeline project on the Chinese border, to successfully bore 25-40m deep piles in grade 2-3 granite.
The fresh water supply pipeline will flow from China into Hong Kong’s New Territories close to Shek Wu Hui and will cross the Sheung Shui river bed. The work is being made increasingly difficult by heavy rainfall and regular flooding which has occasionally topped the pipeline.
Bilfinger and Berger has recently started work on diverting part of the water channel with the construction of a diaphragm wall which is hoped to prevent future flooding. New piles and columns have also been bored to support the pipeline.
The company is working beneath the pipeline with just 6m headroom. It was believed that the only rigs available with the necessary torque was HD Engineering’s HD200 and the recently introduced HD205P. HD supplied Bilfinger and Berger with a 5.7m mast to carry out the work.