In the Autumn of 2021 WJ opened our first offices in the Philippines, to join our global operations covering the UK, Canada, Poland, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This new office was on the back of being awarded the USD $6m dewatering contract for the new Clark-Malolos Railway Station at Clark International Airport, approximately 100km north of Manila.
The principal contractor for the project is a joint venture between Acciona, an international contractor with annual revenues of €8 billion and EE+I, one of the Philippine’s largest contractors. WJ’s previous experience of working for Acciona on the Dubai Expo 2020 Metro Extension in the UAE was crucial to the success of the bid as they had already seen WJ’s technical expertise in optimising dewatering strategies to drive down costs, combined with rapid mobilisation, and efficient and effective installation techniques on a demanding programme.
Overview of the project (Clark International Airport Station box, cut and cover, and open cut excavations)
Typical dewatering profile for the open cut section; Well drilling for the open cut in August 2021
Despite the covid travel restrictions in place at the time, WJ’s network of current and previous Filipino employees from within the WJ Group businesses in the Middle East allowed a qualified and experienced team to be deployed to establish the project office and supervise the work on site without disrupting the schedule.
In addition to the complex and large scale deepwell dewatering for the 1.6 km long cut and cover and station box WJ are also undertaking the wellpoint dewatering of the, approximately, 100 foundation pits required for the supports of a 5 kilometre viaduct section.
Wellpoint dewatering for the viaduct (September 2022)
With over 40 members of staff, including geotechnical engineers and managers, WJ Philippines has been able to respond to enquiries from the local market and in August 2022 commenced work on the dewatering for a large sea water intake structure for a new power station in Batangas, south of Manila.
Working with the contractor, First Balfour, a hybrid sumping / deepwell strategy was employed to lower the groundwater over 20 m in the highly permeable alluvial sands and gravels less than 50 m from the sea.
Dewatering for the new Batangas Power Station
With peak flows of over 500 l/sec and an installed capacity of over 1,000l/sec the system achieved its goal and allowed the contractor to place the reinforced slab.
Following recently signed contracts for other infrastructure projects for wastewater and mass transit schemes in Metro Manila, WJ is optimistic for profitable growth in the Philippines and recognises the value and contribution of its Filipino staff to this success.
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