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Paving the way for Mickey ...
By Liang Yiwen and Zha Minjie |
April 27, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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Builders preparing the site for the Shanghai Disney project used 'cutting-edge technology' to prevent subsidence, a major problem for all construction projects in the city given its soft and watery soil, officials said yesterday.
Disney officials said that one year after breaking ground, work to prepare the site had been completed on schedule.
The construction of hotels, shops, dining and entertainment areas will begin later this year.
"Beginning is always the hardest," Bill Ernest, president and managing director (Asia) of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, told reporters, speaking in Chinese.
The Sino-US project faced many challenges in preparing the site due to the tight schedule, the different ways of working of Americans and Chinese and the high expectations of the media and the public, he said.
Hundreds of people worked on the site every day, even in the coldest and hottest of weather, to finish the work and ensure it met international standards.
More than 4.2 million cubic meters of water had been extracted and more than 40,000 cubic meters of earth removed during preparation of the 1.6-square-kilometer area.
More than 200 canals on what was previously farmland had been filled in and teams had cleaned up more than 360 contaminated spots to ensure a clean park area.
The officials said a "vacuum-preloading" method had been adopted during construction to deal with the subsidence problem.
The area was divided into 44 parts and pipes inserted into the land to draw out ground water. Builders compared the work to "doing embroidery" on the land and said it now met the standard of an airport runway. The land is not expected to sink by more than a centimeter for at least 50 years.
The city, as whole, is expected to be able to control average subsidence within 5 millimeters a year by 2020, according to city planning authorities.
The subsidence problem hit the headlines in February when cracks appeared in the busy Lujiazui area in February.
Wei Zixin, a researcher with Shanghai Geological Investigation Institute, said one of the most effective ways to curb subsidence was to pump back groundwater drained during construction, and the city has been doing this.
At the Disney site, the vacuum-preloading method was selected to realize various targeted differential settlements on the site for different uses.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Shendi Construction Co Ltd handed over two key land parcels to the Shanghai International Theme Park Co Ltd, one of the owner companies of the Disney resort, for future development.
"This hand-over ceremony marks the fourth milestone of resort construction, following the resident relocation, site formation and the phase one project design," said Liu Zhengyi, deputy director of the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone.
Developers are studying Chinese culture in order to add local elements to Disney's latest attraction. "We are talking a lot about 'authentic Disney, unique Chinese.' We are really working hard to incorporate it in the overall design story," Ernest said.
The resort will take on a local flavor and Chinese elements will be incorporated in the overall design.
The park will celebrate traditional festivals such as Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The resort, due to open at the end of 2015, will initially be comprised of Shanghai Disneyland, a Magic-Kingdom-style park, two themed hotels, a large retail, dining and entertainment venue, recreational facilities, a lake and parking and transport hubs.
The theme park will be the world's sixth Disney amusement park and the first on the Chinese mainland.
Disney officials said that one year after breaking ground, work to prepare the site had been completed on schedule.
The construction of hotels, shops, dining and entertainment areas will begin later this year.
"Beginning is always the hardest," Bill Ernest, president and managing director (Asia) of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, told reporters, speaking in Chinese.
The Sino-US project faced many challenges in preparing the site due to the tight schedule, the different ways of working of Americans and Chinese and the high expectations of the media and the public, he said.
Hundreds of people worked on the site every day, even in the coldest and hottest of weather, to finish the work and ensure it met international standards.
More than 4.2 million cubic meters of water had been extracted and more than 40,000 cubic meters of earth removed during preparation of the 1.6-square-kilometer area.
More than 200 canals on what was previously farmland had been filled in and teams had cleaned up more than 360 contaminated spots to ensure a clean park area.
The officials said a "vacuum-preloading" method had been adopted during construction to deal with the subsidence problem.
The area was divided into 44 parts and pipes inserted into the land to draw out ground water. Builders compared the work to "doing embroidery" on the land and said it now met the standard of an airport runway. The land is not expected to sink by more than a centimeter for at least 50 years.
The city, as whole, is expected to be able to control average subsidence within 5 millimeters a year by 2020, according to city planning authorities.
The subsidence problem hit the headlines in February when cracks appeared in the busy Lujiazui area in February.
Wei Zixin, a researcher with Shanghai Geological Investigation Institute, said one of the most effective ways to curb subsidence was to pump back groundwater drained during construction, and the city has been doing this.
At the Disney site, the vacuum-preloading method was selected to realize various targeted differential settlements on the site for different uses.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Shendi Construction Co Ltd handed over two key land parcels to the Shanghai International Theme Park Co Ltd, one of the owner companies of the Disney resort, for future development.
"This hand-over ceremony marks the fourth milestone of resort construction, following the resident relocation, site formation and the phase one project design," said Liu Zhengyi, deputy director of the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone.
Developers are studying Chinese culture in order to add local elements to Disney's latest attraction. "We are talking a lot about 'authentic Disney, unique Chinese.' We are really working hard to incorporate it in the overall design story," Ernest said.
The resort will take on a local flavor and Chinese elements will be incorporated in the overall design.
The park will celebrate traditional festivals such as Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The resort, due to open at the end of 2015, will initially be comprised of Shanghai Disneyland, a Magic-Kingdom-style park, two themed hotels, a large retail, dining and entertainment venue, recreational facilities, a lake and parking and transport hubs.
The theme park will be the world's sixth Disney amusement park and the first on the Chinese mainland.
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