Typhoon design conditions for land reclamation design in Manila Bay

The Challenge

SM Prime Holdings Inc. requested Royal HaskoningDHV to assist in the development of the Pasay and Parañaque coastal developments in front of the existing reclamations in Manila Bay in the Philippines. The project consists of about 726ha and is divided in 3 islands and an extension of the existing Central Business Park I-A reclamation near the Manila Yacht Club.

The main objective of the study was to develop the most cost-effective design for the land reclamation development, while adhering to the pre-construction requirements of the PRA (Philippines Reclamation Authority) for endorsement to NEDA (The National Economic and Development Authority). The design must meet the criteria of a detailed engineering design. This report covers the modelling and analysis tasks which are required to obtain the extreme and operational hydraulic design conditions (water levels, currents, waves), the morphological impact, tsunami events and the water quality inside the canals. As the Philippines are hit by typhoons frequently, the design conditions for the reclamations and revetments were derived from a detailed analysis of typhoon hydraulic conditions.

Our Solution

The scope of work included detailed modelling of operational and extreme hydraulic conditions (typhoons, tsunamis), calibrated against measurements of surge levels during typhoon conditions. For operational conditions, flushing in the channels between the reclamations was investigated to assess water quality. Dredging operations were studied to determine dredging plumes and morphological changes. A detailed design was made, agreed upon by all parties, which was accepted by the PRA and NEDA.

The Outcome

We provided a cost-effective detailed design, tender documents and requirements for PRA and NEDA. The building of Pasay Parañaque has started in 2019.