Coastal and Shoreline Engineering
Health Island Reclamation Bahrain
Keywords: Shoreline Master Planning, Waterside Development, Shoreline Protection, SWAN.
Client, Architect & Other Organisations
Ansari Engineering Services
Manama DP Architects Singapore
Description
Health Island is a major new development in Bahrain and will be the first of six islands forming an archipelago of to the north east coast of Maharraq. The island will include a range of Health related facilities including a number of major hospitals, clinics and supporting facilities associated with recuperation. In addition, the island will also include three major five star resort hotels to the north of the island, a commercial retail centre and residential accommodation. The island will be a major departure form similar reclamation projects in Bahrain in that the central core of the island will be set upon a raised platform approximately 11m above sea level.
The island will also include a central water feature (canal) running from the north to the south west of the island. Water will be elevated by pump and discharge via a series of weirs to mangrove parkland. The island will be approximately 25km square and connected to other islands through a series of roads, bridges and causeways.
Scope of Work
Edenvale Young Associates was appointed as a specialist coastal and maritime civil engineering consultant to undertake a two stage feasibility study into the design of the island including the preparation of a marine studies report and shoreline master plan. The marine studies included an assessment of extreme water levels and wave climate for the design of the island. Assessment of the wave climate for the site was based upon the development of a SWAN wave propagation model for the east coast of Bahrain. The development is protected from prevailing wind / wave conditions associated with the Shamal emanating from the North West but exposed to the north. The SWAN model was therefore run for a range of return periods from a wave quarter from the north to south east.
The development of the shoreline master plan included an evaluation of littoral drift and recommendations for shoreline structures including beaches, groynes, and vertical walls for the three phases of the island development (Preliminary Island Reclamation, Island Completion and Archipelago Completion). The objective of this stage of work was to evaluate the risks associated with the scheme for five separate coastal cells in relation to marine climate and assess the sustainability of the shoreline structures.