Hong Kong to Zhuhai Mega Bridge Installs Isocrete K-Screed

Flowcrete has been involved in the construction of the world’s longest sea crossing bridge, the remarkable Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB). 

The $20 billion development has been built to link the three cities of Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau together for the first time. The scale and ambition of the project is truly unique, as the 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system includes a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and four artificial islands.

This unique feat of civil engineering faced some truly unique challenges, thanks in large part to the vast distances that it covers and the fact that it would have to support tens of thousands of passengers every day.

To make sure that the project’s innovatively designed Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facility (HKBCF) would be able to cope with these pressures, 43,000 m² of Flowcrete’s cementitious subfloor screed solution, Isocrete K-Screed, was supplied.

Francis Tang, General Manager of Flowcrete Hong Kong, said: “The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge is central to the Hong Kong government’s plan to improve connectivity in the region and we’re proud to have been involved in the construction of an important section of the bridge’s infrastructure.

“The vast numbers of people that the crossing facility would have to accommodate on a daily basis meant that the floor in the HKBCF had to be as robust and reliable as possible. Isocrete K-Screed was ideal for this, as it has been specifically designed to rapidly provide a high-performance, long lasting screed layer for large and demanding construction projects.”

Situated on a 130-hectare reclaimed island, the HKBCF provides a strategic multi-modal transportation hub for the western Hong Kong side of the bridge. If the floor failed here, then it could lead to a long list of safety and operational concerns!

Isocrete K-Screed is a durable, semi-dry cementitious screed system that incorporates a proprietary additive to produce an early drying, high-strength screed. These properties mean that large-scale developments can speed up the process of applying the screed without sacrificing on critical structural and functional properties.

Flowcrete’s specialist screed system was applied in thicknesses ranging from 75-150mm across the site, including in the customs, clearance and departure halls as well as in the baggage handling area, back-of-house maintenance facilities and the overhead rooftop garden. Inside the HKBCF, Isocrete K-Screed proved to be the ideal platform on which to install the tile finish, creating an attractive and impressive floor area.

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