Geo-engineering specialist Golden Tri Star Co is using the first Liebherr rotary drilling rig in Myanmar to bore piles for a condominium in Yangon’s embassy district.
The rig is now working on its second project after successfully completing foundation drilling for one of Yangon’s largest commercial projects. The rig has started bored piling work on The Illustra At Pho Sein, a 31-storey condominium project, being built on Pho Sein Road in Yangon’s premier Kandawgyi Lake district, which includes the city’s embassy quarter.
Developer of the project is PSWN Development Company Ltd., who have subcontracted geo-engineering specialist Golden Tri Star Co Ltd (GTS) to carry out the foundations work. GTS is the owner of the LB 28, and is a division of Shwe Taung Group, the company that is developing the Junction City project in downtown Yangon, which is where the rig made its debut on the foundations before being moved to The Illustra.
Designed by DP Architects, the project has a total ground floor area of 30,800 metres. Project manager Phyo Win Aung says that the ground at the site, which measures approximately 50 by 100 metres, consists largely of silt and has a very high water table of less than two metres below the surface.
“The ground is very soft, and we are having to install a total of 144 reinforced concrete piles,” he said. “Because of the softness of the ground, we cannot use an auger, and are digging out the soil with a grab.”
There are three sizes of pile to be installed. A total of 11 piles will have a diameter of 800 mm and will be sunk to a depth of 55 metres. Sixty-two piles have a diameter of 1,200 mm. These will be sunk to 57 metres, as will the total of 66 piles that have a diameter of 1,350 mm.
“Despite the depth of the piles, we are not reaching bedrock,” said Phyo. “Much of this part of Yangon has this very soft, silty, wet soil, as we are very near to the Yangon River.”
The LB 28 features an operating weight of 93 tonnes and offers a maximum torque of 320 kNm and a maximum push/ pull force of 400 kN. Powered by a 390 kW diesel engine, the rig can drill to a depth of 70 metres and a maximum diameter of 2,500 mm.
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