CONSTRUCTION OF NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, BRUNEI.

Abstract

This paper deals with the particular problems of earthworks and pavement construction at a new international airport in Brunei. The airport was designed and constructed between 1966 and 1972 on a site some 8 km nw of the town of Bandar Seri Begawan. The 285 ha site, much of which had almost impenetrable jungle cover, comprised both high hills and peat swamps necessitating extensive cut and fill operations and a total earthworks volume amounting to some 6.5 million M3. Earthmoving was carried out with a fleet of scrapers and ancillary equipment, while swamps under pavements were excavated by draglines loading into trucks. Excavations were backfilled with material of low compressibility, and controlled settlement was carried out using earth surcharge to calculated heights. The work was carried out under conditions of heavy rainfall and high humidity. The paper describes in some detail methods used for the monitoring of settlements. Some anomalous results are discussed. The runway, 3650 M long, has a flexible pavement consisting of beach sand, cement-stabilized to part of its depth, cement-bound gravel and Marshall asphalt surfacing. The runway ends, taxi-ways and apron are of reinforced concrete. The flight strip has a width of 304 M. Methods used for winning stone from jungle areas remote from the site and the transportation by river are described, as are the logistical problems encountered by the contractor in the importation of heavy equipment. Construction procedures are described in detail and brief mention is made of the terminal buildings complex and of the radio-navigational aids provided.(a) /TRRL/