HK01- CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAMME

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
SESSION 2017/2018

COURSE
KA40302 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TITLE
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
CONSTRUCTION OF A BRIDGE
BATANG SADONG BRIDGE
(CONTRACT NO.: PWD/HO/B040/2012)

DATE OF SUBMISSION
7 NOVEMBER 2017

PREPARED FOR
MR. MOHAMMAD RADZIF TAHARIN

PREPARED BY
NO. NAME MATRICULATION NUMBER
1 BEH JING PIN BK14110074
2 CHEE CHUNG CHER BK14110085
3 KHEW ZHEN YUAN BK14110136
4 LIM GUO SHENG BK14110146
5 THOMAS KHO SWEE BOON BK14110239
 Table of Contents

No. Titles Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION 1-3

2. PROJECT COST AND DURATION 3-4

3. TYPE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONCEPT 4-6

4. WORK PROCEDURES 6-9

5. PROBLEMS OCCURRED DURING CONSTRUCTION 10

6. SOLUTIONS PROPOSED FOR THE PROBLEMS 11-13

7. CONCLUSION 13

8. REFERENCES 14-15

9. APPENDICES -
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Batang Sadong Bridge, which was named after the late former Chief Minister
of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, has begun its operation since 16
October 2016. Stretched about 1.48km long across the Batang Sadong, this newly
constructed bridge had bringing up socioeconomic status among the rural citizens of
Kampung Buloh and Kampung Sebangan, which the source of income is mainly from
agricultural and fishing industry. The development of Batang Sadong Bridge also
symbolized the era of ferry transportation service for decades officially terminated.
Batang Sadong Bridge also make a great leap forward in the projects of construction
of Sarawak coastal highway. The time travelled is also shorten to about 30minutes to
1 hour from Sibu City to Kuching City.
1.1 Location

Location of Batang
Sadong Bridge

The location of Batang Sadong Bridge located at the estuary of Batang Sadong.
Specifically, it is a major bridge connecting Asajaya and Simunjan in Samarahan
Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Batang Sadong bridge is 40.2km away from Simunjan
town while only 31.1km from Asajaya Town.
1.2 Plan Designs
Criteria Description
Bridge Categories Cantilever Bridge
Design Concept Arch box girder bridge
Bridge Length 1480meters or 1.48kilometers
Bridge Width Two way single carriageway 8m

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 Total width including road shoulders,
pedestrian walkway 11.5m
Number of Spans 10 balance cantilever pre-stressed
concrete single cell box girder spans
Piers 9 Piers supported by 1.5m Dia. Steel
Casing Pipe Piles.
Abutments Total 2 abutments is construction and
supported by 600m spun piles. Spun
piles are hollow, precast and prestressed
concrete piles, in size generally ranging
from 300 to 1200 mm outside diameter,
that are fabricated by prestressing
methods (Irawan et al., 2015). The
materials of spun piles consists of high
strength concrete 50 to 75 MPa and
prestress steel. Advantages of using
spun pole are spun piles are less
permeable than reinforced concrete pile,
thus it has a good performance in a
marine environment (Hartman et al.,
2007).
Facilities Traffic equipment and facilities such as
footways, kerbs, service trenches,
parapets, guard rails, drainage holes and
street lightings.

The side and elevation as well as plan view of bridge designs are as shown in
Appendix 1.
1.3 Scope of Works
Besides bridge works, this project also includes upgrading and development of new
roads connecting the bridges to both nearest town, which are Kampung Buloh and
Kampung Sebangan. The road class is R3.The road works includes:

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 At Sg. Buloh side, along Jalan Sadong/ Sg. Buloh: 325 m (2-lane single
carriageway)
At Sebangan side, along Jalan Sg. Buloh/Sebangan/Sebuyau: 500 m (2-lane
single carriageway)
Total length (include approach road): 1,085 m or 1.1km.
Road width: 11 m
2.0 PROJECT COST AND DURATION
Batang Sadong Bridge, the 1.48km long bridge is a construction project that
costs RM 211,385,628.60. The client of the project is Government of Malaysia,
Kementerian Kerja Raya Malaysia. The superintendent officer (SO) and consulting
engineer are Regional Manager, Southern Regional Office, Jabatan Kerja Raya
Sarawak and Perunding JHL respectively. The project completion period of this project
is 48 months (4 years). The construction was commenced on 5 th July 2012 and
completed on 4th July 2016. However, the project could not completed on 4 th July
2016 as expected. So, an extension of time (EoT) of 108 days are given for the
construction to be completed. Thus, the revised completion date was 20 th October
2016 but the construction was able to complete on 4 th October 2016 which was 16
days earlier than the revision completion date. The project was finally handed over to
Government of Malaysia, Kementerian Kerja Raya Malaysia on 16 th October 2016.
However, the completed bridge project was bonded with a defect liability period of 18
months which will be expired on 3rd April 2018. A defect liability period is a set period
of time after a construction project has been completed which a contractor has the
right to return to the site to remedy defects. Figure 1.1, Figure 1.2 and Figure 1.3 are
the aerial photograph of the completed bridge.

Figure 1.1: Aerial photograph of Batang Sadong Bridge

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 Figure 1.2: Aerial photograph of Batang Sadong Bridge

Figure 1.3: Aerial photograph of Batang Sadong Bridge

3.0 TYPE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONCEPT
3.1 Design/ Bid/ Build
The type of project management concept used in the project of Batang Sadong Bridge
is design-bid-build management concept. Design-bid-build management concept is
the most traditional method among all of the project management concepts. For
design-bid-build, the owner engages an architect or consulting engineer for
infrastructure works to prepare the design of the complete facility, including
construction drawings, specifications and contract packages. The design package is

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then presented to general contractors who bid for the work and engage subcontractors
to provide various aspects of the project. The lowest bid is considered first and
selected to build the facility according to the design. In this type of management
concept, consultants and contractor are at the same level, which is under the client.
With this project system, the owner retain more control over the project with the
individual selection of designer and contractor. Thus, owner will make decisions if any
dispute between consultants and contractor.
In the project of Batang Sadong Bridge, the owner is the Kementerian Kerja
Raya Malaysia. Kementerian Kerja Raya Malaysia engages Jabatan Kerja Raya
Sarawak as superintendent officer to design the bridge and road drawings as well as
preparing of bid documents. The design fee is either a percentage of the estimated
construction cost or a lump-sum amount. Jabatan Kerja Raya Sarawak is then hired
the Perunding JHL in Kuching, Malaysia as consulting engineering to design the
construction drawings and technical specifications. With complete set of bid document,
the owner is then conducted a competitive bid opening in order to obtain the lowest
bid price from contractors to construct the designed bridge an road. Pekerjaan Piasau
Konkerit Sdn Bhd located at Miri, Sarawak is selected as the contractor of the project
due to its lowest bid price. The Pekerjaan Piasau Konkerit Sdn Bhd is then responsible
for delivering the completed project in accordance with the dictates of the contract
documents. In some case, the contractor may hire a subcontractor to the distribute
some of the works. The decision usually depend on the scales and complexity of the
project. However, there is no any subcontractor involved in this project due to specific
reason.

Owner
KKR Malaysia Completed
Design Fee
Project
Contract
Documents Bid Prices
Consultant Completed trade
Designer Contractor
fee JKR Sarawak
work
Pekerjaan Piasau
Konkerit

Design Sub-bid
documents Prices
Engineer Subcontractor
Perunding JHL & Suppliers
Informal Relationship
Figure 2: Information exchanged between the designer and the contractor
formally flows through the owner in Batang Sadong bridge project

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3.2 Advantages of Design/ Bid/ Build
Design/ bid/ build project delivery system has been the most widely used, most well
understood because of clearly defined roles for the parties involved. There is no risk
of cost overruns such as nonperforming subs, labor inefficiencies and other vagaries
of the larger economics picture for owner is one of the most important advantages of
design/ bid/ build method. This is due to the owner able to know the final cost at the
beginning of the construction, hence the risk of cost overruns are borne by contractor
only.
Additionally, this method benefit owner in economy due to its open market
competition. Through open bidding process, the owner able to get the lowest bid price
to obtain greatest economic efficiency. Furthermore, the owner also does not have to
be heavily involved in the construction process in this method except in decision
making.
3.3 Disadvantages of Design/ Bid/ Build
Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages of design/ bid/ build for the owner. Time
consumption is considered as one of the disadvantages of this method. This is due to
the difficulty of reducing the time required to do both design and construction. This is
because the design and construction are conducted by different parties, hence no
opportunity to overlap the similar tasks. In addition, there is not much interaction and
communication for related parties because all parties work autonomously in this
method. This will cause the major breakdowns in relationships between parties
involved.
Besides that, the construction professionals is not allowed to enter the process
to review for constructability before the facility is finished in this management mode.
This will lead to construction problem such as over of estimated cost occur.
4.0 WORK PROCEDURE

4.1 Initial Works Done Before the Construction Start

Prior to the commencement of the construction phase, initial works have to be first
carried out in order to set up a suitable working environment as well as to ensure site
health, safety and environment. Inadequate initial works can have serious impact on
the following construction process. Therefore, activities such as getting approvals from
related authorities, site clearance, transportations of machineries and materials,
development of travelling routes and drainage systems, soil investigation works,

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excavation and foundation works, are to be carried out before the construction of
superstructure.

Before the construction, several site management plans were drafted through
pass experience and existing standards by government authorities. These plans
include occupation safety & health & management plan, environment management
plan, work construction risk management plan. Besides that, due to the location of the
construction, land & riverine management plan is also required to be approved to
manage the transportation on the riverbank. These management plans were aimed to
set up a guideline to be followed by workers and visitors on site as well as the project
management team to carry out the construction in a safe and efficient manners.
Through meetings with local authority, approval of these plans were obtained and the
plans were placed in command.

For design wise, Perunding JHL as appointed consultant first carry out design
of the bridge as per request by JKR Sarawak branch. Site studies were carried out
several times by the consultant to study the condition on site. Specialized underwater
equipment was used in site investigation carried out in the river to study the river
condition such as mild tidal wave, river depth and riverbed soil condition. The study of
the river is very important which provide data for structural engineers to determine the
type of foundation to be used. Architects then coordinated with structural engineers
and M&E engineers to produce the tender drawings of the project. Bid documents
were also prepared together with the tender drawings for tender process to appoint
the main contractor. Bidding process was then carried out when each contractor come
up with their best offer to construct the bridge. After the main contractor was appointed
by JKR Sarawak, approval from local authorities were obtained as per standard
operating procedures.

Before the commencement of the construction phase, site clearance was

carried out by the contractor. Setting up of the reduced level was then done by
experience surveyors on site. Since the construction was carried out mainly in the river,
the river site is also constantly monitored due to the present of existing water traffic
including heavy ship such as public vessels. Routing of the river travel were set up to
prevent accident from happening in particularly after the piles of the bridge was laid
as it lies below the water surface and unobservable by sight. In the meantime,

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transferred of machineries and materials to the site was planned and carried out before
construction. The process was carried out under the supervision of safety officer to
ensure the safety in terms of the travel route and material unloading. One of the
important machineries needed in the early stage of construction is the piling rig
equipped with 25 ton hydraulic hammer to drive steel casing pipe pile deep into the
riverbed. To carry out the piling offshore, the piling rig was mounted on a barge and
moved into position. The barge is fixed at the desired location using steel cable and
anchor installed in the riverbed.

Lastly, temporary works were carried out at the site simultaneously with other
initial works mentioned earlier. These involved the construction of site office, toilet and
workers accommodation. Besides that, a twin concrete batching plant was constructed
on the land as the project was expected to use large amount of special mix concrete
in the construction of substructure and superstructure. Besides, the harsh and
unpredictable condition in the river such as vigorous tidal waves poses serious
challenge to the concrete casting. Only in some occasion where the condition of the
river is calm and the level water is below the maximum level permit the casting of pile
foundation. The use premix concrete may not be feasible in terms of time when the
travel distance between the mixing plant and the site is far. Therefore, batching plant
in the site is the best solution to this as it is capable of producing 60 m 3 of concrete
mix with full control by the contractor over the design mix of the concrete.

4.2 Bridge Construction Sequences

Generally, the bridge construction sequences are:

Pile Installation

Equipment: 25 Ton Hydraulic Hammer Mounted on 70m Piling Rig mounted on Barge.
Pile Diameter: 1.5m
Average pile length: 45m to 80m
Estimated progress: 5 pile points per day

Pile Cleaning (By pressured Air Lift Method)

Equipment: Air-Lift Pipe, Air Compressor (750 cfm), Barge Crane

Estimated progress: 2 pile points per day

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 Instalment of rebar cage and concreting of piles (By Tremie Method)

Equipment: Tremie pipes, barge crane, hoppers.

Estimated progress: 2 pile points per day

Construction of Pile Caps

The construction of piles caps involved placement and stitching of precast soffit panels,
placement of rebars, concreting of pile caps. The final layer of concrete is laid once the
precast skirting panel is placed.

Construction of Piers

Pre-fabricated rebar for lower column was arranged and concrete was laid. Rebar for
upper column was installed after that. Then, diaphragm slabs and steel brackets was
constructed.

Construction of Hammer Head

Construction of hammer head was divided into three portion, known as 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Lift. Rebars were installed and slab was applied step by step. At the final lift, or known
as top deck, the deck formwork was installed.

Box Cantilever Segmental Construction

Equipment: 6 Pairs of Form-traveller were used to complete all segmental works of

10 River spans.
The longest span are Span 4, 5 and 6 which are 200m length equally from Pier to Pier.
Estimated progress: Each segment length are varies from 3m to 5m.
Eg. Span 4, Segment 4S1 to 4S8 at 3.75m and 4S9 to 4S20 Segment at 5m

Closure Segment Cast

a) Use steel false works to connect and lock the both Piers End Segment
b) Advancing the Form- traveller to cast the closure segment
c) Concreting or stich the closure segment
d) Post tensioning works on bottom of Box Girder
e) Dismantle of Form-Traveller
f) Bridge Furniture installation

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5.0 PROBLEMS OCCURRED DURING CONSTRUCTION

5.1 Site condition and weathering

Since all 9 bridge piers were constructed in the river, the construction works would be
affected by tidal influence. Tidal effects can alter significantly the way in which a river
behaves and hence affect construction works. The most obvious tidal effect is upon
the river flow. As the tidal cycle progresses the river level will change and flow velocity
will vary. The tidal effect becomes worst when existence of poor weathering. Weather
could bring devastating effects to construction process. Bad weathering cannot be
prevented but can be predicted. Hazards can be presented by weathering such as
continues thunderstorm and extreme strong winds. Thunderstorm can make the
ground slippery and make people trip and fall. Extreme wind can make vertical
members collapse if they are not braced or supported.
5.2 Difficulty in pouring concrete into pile
The pile position located at middle of the river causes difficulty in transferring and
pouring concrete into the pile. The distance between the pile position and the land are
the main obstacle and challenge which slow down the whole construction process.
Even if able to pour the concrete into the pile from land, the concrete at the bottom of
the pile will harden first before the concrete at the top of the pile being poured, which
may later affect concrete performance.
5.3 Pile Cleaning
For the bridge project, the pile cannot be cleaned before placing into the river since
the river water will still causes contamination in the pile. The cleaning of pile is a crucial
step because to provide an ideal environment for placing concrete for better strength
development. However, the pile cleaning cannot be easily done solely by running
water or simple manual cleaning.

5.4 Breakdown of Machinery

The challenge faced by contractor in construction is breakdown of machinery. The
equipment and machinery are exposed to a number of risks inherent in their operations
in addition to the exposure to natural calamities. Machinery breakdowns are always
costly and time consuming to the contractors as well as for the client. This may lead
to extension of time for the project which is costly and spoil reputation for the both
parties.

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6.0 SOLUTIONS PROPOSED FOR THE PROBLEMS
6.1 Solutions for site condition and weathering
The tidal effect cannot be avoided however there is a proposed mitigation:
The tidal effect can be reduced by using water coffer. Enclosed water coffers are
commonly used for construction and repair of oil platforms, bridge piers and other
support structures built within or over water. These coffers are usually welded steel
structures. The coffers are improved precast soffit panel wall and precast skirting panel
design. In order to make sure the progress in on-pace, work has to be rushed to
coincide with during which the weather is most likely to be favorable and to avoid
scheduling major projects during times when it is most likely to be unfavorable. By
analyzing historical weather data for the worksite location and consider how weather
phenomena for the area would affect construction progress to plan ahead can
minimize the weathering problem. In this modern world, weather forecasting is useful
in planning the amount of work needed to be done by next day.

Figure 5.1: Water coffer for the pile caps final layer concrete pour
6.2 Solutions for difficulty in pouring concrete into pile
To make sure the concrete at the bottom of the pile does not harden first before the
pouring concrete on the top of the pile, concrete with higher workability is proposed to
be used. The pouring concrete into pile can be done through Tremie concrete method,
as the pile interior is filled with water. Tremie concrete method uses a long vertical
pipe, through which concrete is placed by gravity feed below water level. Admixtures
may be used to control setting time, slump and workability. Proper vibration of the pipe
may be applied to encourage slumping and leveling of the upper surface of the pour.

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 Figure 5.2: Placing spliced up Tremie pipe into pipe pile for Tremie concrete
pouring
6.3 Solutions for Pile Cleaning
The pile cleaning can be done by using Air-Lift Method. The mud inside the river pile
can be cleaned as is opened toe pipe pile. Air-Life pipe is inserted into steel pipe pile
to flush out the mud or earth. There is an air hose with compressor air channeled to
internal toe of airlift pipe.

Figure 5.3: Cleaning depth of 35m from pile cut off level by Air-Lift Method
6.4 Solutions for breakdown of Machinery
To prevent sudden breakdown of machines, it is needed to have maintenances and
services on the machines properly on a timely basis. It is a common mistake not to
replace the part when they start to show excessive wear instead of waiting for them to
break (Oberlender, 2000). However, the machinery may eventually breakdown. To
worsen the case, the machinery breaks down during the crucial time would result in
wasting materials and time. Any unforeseen loss or damage to machinery while at

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work or at rest, in transit, or during overhauling, erection or dismantling occurring
during the period of insurance will be insured.

7.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, although there was a lot of problems faced during the Batang Sadong
Bridge Construction Project, they had been solved properly with the full cooperation
among the client, contractors, consultant, sub-contractors as well as other partied
involved. The main contributing factors to the success of this project are competence
& financial capability of the contractor (in time/early delivery of materials and
machineries), commitment in solving site issues and ccommitment, well manage, good
coordination and communication of project team. This project was also awarded
Anugerah 4 Bintang from CIDB Malaysia which symbolized that the parties involved
had fully achieved all the criteria required in Assessment of Site, Health, Safety and
Environment. Full commitment of all parties involved in a construction project is
important to bring a successful ending of the project.

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8.0 REFERENCE

Gould, F.E. and Joyce, N. 2011. Construction project management. 3rd ed. Boston,
MA, United States: Pearson Education.

Johnston, J. E. 1981. Site Control of Materials: Handling, Storage and Protection.

London: Butterworths.

Kanmozhi, G. 2014. Material Management in Construction Industry. Technology and

Innovation 4, pp.1-3.

Keng, T. C. 2014. Case Studies on the Safety Management. Sustainability Science

and Management , pp. 90-108.

Laws of Malaysia. 2006. Town and Country Planning Act, 1976 (Act 172). The
Commissioner of Law Revision Malaysia. Malaysia: Percetakan Nasional
Malaysia Bhd.

Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia. 2008. Upgrading of the

Procedure on the Delivery System and Development Plan Process and the
Implementation of the One Stop Centre. 2nd ed. Pusat Bandar Damansara, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oberlender, G. D. 2000. Project Management for Engineering and Construction.

Singapore: McGraw Hill.

Vinci Construction. Berjaya Times Square. Retrieved 7 November 2016, from

http://www.vinci-construction-projects.com/projets.nsf/en/geographical-
zones.htm?openagent&f=Berjaya%20Times%20Square,%20Malaysia.

C. Irawan, P. Suprobo, I.G.P. Raka, and R. Djamaluddin. 2015. A Review of

Prestressed Concrete Pile with Circular Hollow Section (Spun Pile). Jurnal
Teknologi, 72:5, pp. 115-123.

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Jan J. Hartman, P. E., Raymond J. Castelli, P. E., and Sanjeev Malhotra, P. E. 2007.
ASCE.

Jabatan Kerja Raya Sarawak. 2016. Showcase Project: Construction and Completion
of Proposed Jambatan Batang Sadong, Kpg. Buloh, Samarahan
Division,Sarawak. Slaid. Government of Malaysia.

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Appendix 1:

Figure 1.1 Side and Elevation Views of Batang Sadong Bridge Design

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Figure 1.2 Plan View of Batang Sadong Bridge Design

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