A part of the Red Sea Global project, WJ have been providing dewatering services on the prestigious Central Hotel on Shura Island, on the western coast of Saudi Arabia. Shura is the main hub island at The Red Sea and hotel complex. “The Coral Bloom concept, designed by lead architects Foster + Partners, will blend in with the natural environment and create a luxury experience for guests on their first arrival to the destination,” said the project’s developer, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC). Shura Island is in the shape of a dolphin, and the Central Hotel takes centre stage with its unique multi coloured umbrellas that cover the central hotel and the line of villas below.
To serve the main hotel and the villas and restaurants a central service tunnel runs down the spine of the island, with the sea located either side of the tunnel. The service tunnel is nearly 1km long, 60m wide, and up to 12m deep. With the Sea and a quay wall only 10m away from the excavation, WJ expertise was used to provide a robust dewatering solution.
WJ were involved right from early pre-contractor tender stage, assisting with the dewatering concept design, then undertaking pumping tests in late 2022 followed by 3D computer modelling.
At its peak 2,000 l/s of pumping capacity was installed, with over 4km of HDPE discharge lines. Due to the very fast recovery times, WJ installed multiple standby and backup features to provide a robust dewatering solution.
As part of ensuring the protection of the pristine waters and coral reefs around the island, the dewatering was carefully designed to ensure that clear water were pumped into the sea. Daily monitoring of water quality using both handheld water quality meters and laboratory tests were undertaken.
A deepwell dewatering solution was selected with French drain trenches used to expedite drawdown and intercept fissure flows in the deepest pits.
WJ would like to thank those that it partnered with to make the project a success including RSG, DAR, Ammico, G.E.T., ACES, and Greenfields.
