Hong Kong’s provisions for cruise liners in the bay were not capable of housing the world’s largest vessels.

To change this, the Hong Kong government commissioned a cruise terminal construction project on the site of the old Hong Kong International Airport at Kai Tak.

The Norman Foster and Partners-designed Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Building (CTB) is an iconic architectural masterpiece that changes the landscape of the region. At 800 metres long, 30 metres high, and 75 metres wide, the dimensions of the building belie its ambitious aims.

It represents a vital part of the government’s mega project of the development of Hong Kong tourist infrastructure for the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

RMD Kwikform supplied the formwork and shoring for the construction of the new cruise terminal building.

This prestigious project used a variety of RMD Kwikform’s versatile product range to achieve impressive results.

Made up of 13 in-situ poured main concrete beams, each linked by precast and in-situ constructed beams, the concrete works for the cruise terminal building construction began in April 2011, completing in November 2012.

With a shortage and increasing cost in labour in Hong Kong, in order to achieve the tight programme, primary contractor Dragages opted to move away from traditional methods used locally, taking a system-based formwork and shoring approach to the project.

This led to the appointment of RMD Kwikform as a sole supplier of formwork and shoring for the cruise terminal building construction project. In total, some 3,000 tonnes of equipment; including Rapidshor steel and Alshor Plus lightweight aluminium shoring, hundreds of steel beams and a variety of other equipment were used on site.

In addition to standard equipment and Ultraguard edge protection, RMD Kwikform engineers worked with Dragages team to design and fabricate six identical special column forms that could be crane lifted into place.

With each of the 13 pier structures requiring an individually designed formwork and shoring solution, engineers had to provide hundreds of drawings, with specialist RMD Kwikform staff conducting on-site familiarisation training and support.

Each three-tier pier structure was made up of core columns, cast using a specially fabricated column form, with integrated access built into the unit for safe and easy striking. Raised by crane, each column was able to be poured and struck in a matter of days, speeding up the overall construction process.