The highly respected Hong Kong Sports Institute called on Poralu Marine, the world leader in designing aluminum marinas, to create the world’s first two-level dock. Measuring eight meters wide and almost 100 meters in length, the Olympic-quality facility has been designed for major international competitions.
A true engineering challenge
Located on the banks of the Shing Mun River, the rowing club of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) is a member of the World Rowing Federation, and the sport is booming in South-East Asia. The HKSI chose the French company Poralu Marine and its high-end expertise in constructing competition facilities to design and build a one-of-a-kind floating structure specifically for rowing.
“Poralu Marine is proud to have worked alongside the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) to build this cutting-edge rowing dock. It’s the very first two-level dock in the world,” explains Ekrem Reyhancioglu, Director Asia-Pacific at Poralu Marine.
Built using floating docks designed specifically with the needs of rowing in mind, this Olympic-quality facility meets the highest international standards.
The design accounts for the site’s major technical constraints, which posed a real challenge. The most significant of which are a quay rising over 3 meters above water level and restrictions on having any structure in direct contact or resting directly on the quay. Poralu Marine’s engineering teams designed an 8-meter-wide access gangway that is supported at the same level as the quay by a pre-fabricated metal structure. The engineers also worked closely with a contractor to design a customized piling system to ensure proper alignment despite the fact that the river bed is not flat and permanent piling was not allowed.
“Our team of experts has worked tirelessly to ensure that the platform meets the highest performance, safety, and innovation standards. We believe that every athlete deserves high-quality training facilities and we’re delighted to have played a part in developing this facility for the HKSI,” adds Ekrem Reyhancioglu, Director Asia-Pacific at Poralu Marine.
Poralu Marine, an expert in designing floating sports facilities
Poralu Marine’s facilities are designed for high-level water sports and meet the highest performance standards. For the HKSI project, Poralu Marine used its low-freeboard dock technology for the launching pontoon, which ensures athletes’ safety thanks to the rounded shape and the polyethylene edge protection. The docks are fitted with 100% recyclable Ecostyle decking with a non-slip surface.
The facility is movable if needed, and has been designed to withstand the extreme weather conditions that the region sometimes experiences. The entire structure has been designed to be accessible at all tidal levels, maximizing the time available for training.
Poralu Marine’s expertise makes it the partner of choice for major international sporting events. This unique and innovative project for the Hong Kong Sports Institute represents a new and prestigious step for Poralu Marine following on from successful partnerships as part of the London Olympics (2012) and Singapore Youth Olympics (2010) as well as a range of other events such as the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the 2019 World Urban Games in Budapest, Hungary.
More recently, Poralu Marine was awarded the contract for the 2024 Paris Olympics, making the Group the official equipment supplier for the dinghy, keelboat and catamaran events in Paris and Marseille.
With this new rowing dock, the Hong Kong Sports Institute is now capable of hosting major international competitions with safe access to the water for all levels of ability.