Island life
It’s one thing to create extraordinary structures in the heart of the Middle East, but what about the underlying infrastructure?
The man-made island developments that sit off the Dubai and Bahrain coasts may grab the headlines for their apparent extravagance, but they still have to fulfil some very basic needs for their residents.
Atkins has worked on a number of these projects in the region, from The World in Dubai to the Durrat Al Bahrain resort. They represent extraordinary achievement, but behind the spectacle, there are some rather less glamorous fundamentals, from freshwater supply to power and waste management. According to Kevin Williamson, infrastructure projects director for Atkins in Dubai, making it work is all in the planning and understanding of the client’s requirements.
For example, Atkins was commissioned by Mirage Mille, a Dubai-based development company, to produce the comprehensive masterplanning, design and delivery of a resort on one of the 300 islands that make up The World – the man-made archipelago in Dubai constructed in the shape of a world map. This includes a central utility compound consisting of wastewater treatment plant, desalination plant, district cooling, power generation, waste management and a port, among other things.
Atkins was also commissioned to deliver the design for the sewage treatment plant, the potable and irrigation water supply, wastewater collection and water treatment infrastructure for the development, as well as the design for a reverse osmosis drinking water plant.
Clients also require plant buildings to be visually unobtrusive and quiet. The exclusivity of an offshore development of this kind demands discreet infrastructure throughout.
Stay cool
Air conditioning is essential. District cooling, which pumps chilled water around a development via a centralised network, is often the preferred system. It is currently being used by the $2.5bn Bahrain Bay Development, located off the coast of Manama. Atkins is providing additional support for the execution phase of the development.
Discreet methods for dealing with human waste include placing pumping stations underground in order to keep unpleasant smells to a minimum. Air extractors offer another level of management.
These efforts can be supported through a combination of biological, chemical, catalytic and thermal processes. The unpleasant side-effects of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) can be reduced by being placed within buildings.
Island life
Safety concerns also loom large on off-shore developments. Flooding is dealt with using storm water drainage appropriate to the climate. A further island-specific issue is the risk of nutrient runoff (from both irrigation and storm runoff). This could adversely affect the environment and must be tightly controlled.
More complexity is added by the logistics of building on an artificial construction. High heat and humidity create hostile conditions for workers and the airborne salt can be highly corrosive to materials. Workers require transportation to the islands and sometimes accommodation during the construction period. Moreover, the cost of creating land in the middle of the ocean is so high that the infrastructure must be as space efficient as possible.
Managing the softscape is also part of the essential infrastructure for non-land based projects. Atkins is familiar with this challenge, based on its work on the Durrat Al Bahrain resort, one the first large-scale land reclamation projects along the Bahrain coast. Atkins was commissioned to produce the masterplan, design supervision and project management, including marine, infrastructure and villa design, and road infrastructure.
“Our aim is to deliver reliable, efficient and sustainable infrastructure systems integrated discreetly into the development,” Williamson says. “This requires a combination of local experience and international expertise, and the ability to develop flexible and innovative engineering solutions.”