TC217 Land Reclamation

Land reclamation is one of major geotechnical activities in many countries. Many challenging land reclamation projects have been carried out in recent years. These include the Kasai International Airport in Japan, the Changi International Airport in Singapore, the Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport, the Seoul Incheon International Airport, the Palm Deria in Dubai, The Port 2000 of Le Havre in France, The Hamburg Airbus A380 Industrial Platform Site in Germany, and the Port of Brisbane in Australia. Land reclamation activities include mainly dredging or coastal and river delta developments to expand land for ports, airports, business centers, shopping centers, logistic terminals, factories, residences, amusement parks, as well as activities for land reclamation of old mining sites, quarries and ponds.

Most of the countries along the coast have activities related to land reclamation. Various innovative geotechnologies have been developed and used for various land reclamation projects. Land reclamation in coastal development has to meet two different social and environmental demands: on the one hand, a growing need to develop and increase land space and facilities, on the other hand, a corresponding need to respond to geoenvironmental issues in preserving or restoring rich biodiversity in coastal regions such as intertidal flats and shallow seas, which have been lost as a result of reclamation. Therefore, the geoenvironmental aspect is also an issue related to land reclamation activities. As sea level rise becomes a big challenge, it is more important for planners for land reclamation activities to consider issues related to coastal protection. Thus, coastal protection related to land reclamation should also be part of the scopes of TC217.

Geotechnical engineering in land reclamation has a unique role to respond to these demands in coastal development. Geotechnical engineers have to develop innovative technologies for land reclamation and coastal structures such as quays, seawalls, and revetments, in consideration of environment-friendly recycled/reused material and construction methods to achieve minimal environmental impact. Also, the engineers have to develop innovative ideas to preserve/restore rich biodiversity in coastal regions. The development and conservation technologies in land reclamation need to collaboratively work together to prevent from disorderly coastal land development.