HomeFrom Silt to World-Class University: Soft Ground Improvement Project Documentary of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
Release time：Jul 16,2026
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From Silt to World-Class University: Soft Ground Improvement Project Documentary of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
I. A Top University in the Greater Bay Area Built on Soft Soil
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), located at Qingsheng Science and Innovation Hub in Nansha, Guangzhou, is the first world-class research university with independent legal person status jointly established by Guangdong and Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area. With a total investment exceeding RMB 15 billion, it obtained official approval and commenced operation in 2022. It is planned to accommodate 10,000 full-time students at full capacity, including 4,000 undergraduates and 6,000 postgraduates pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees, making it a large-scale, international top-tier research institution. Sharing identical academic standards and interconnected resources with the Clear Water Bay campus in Hong Kong, the university leverages an interdisciplinary framework to focus on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, microelectronics, advanced manufacturing and biomedicine, precisely supporting the high-end industrial development of the Greater Bay Area.Covering a total land area of approximately 1,669 mu, the campus features a modern, low-carbon and smart complex with outstanding landscape design. What few people know is that the site was originally fish ponds, featuring typical deep silt soft soil widely distributed across Nansha. This stratum consists of extremely soft soil with high water content and low bearing capacity, prone to differential settlement after construction. The complex and harsh geological conditions rendered soft ground improvement the top-priority core project to be tackled for campus construction.
II. Three Core Construction Challenges
The entire campus sits on backfilled silt soft soil. Constructing a world-class university on such "soft mud" posed enormous construction difficulties, mainly falling into three critical pain points:1. The deep, loose silt stratum delivers insufficient natural ground bearing capacity, failing to meet the load-bearing requirements of buildings;
2. The loose, water-saturated soil has poor stability and is susceptible to differential settlement, bringing hidden risks of structural cracking and deformation;
3. Numerous high-precision laboratories on campus impose far stricter standards on ground flatness and stability than ordinary buildings; even minor settlement will disrupt the operation of scientific research equipment.
To address these issues, the project adopted a combined construction technique of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs), water-gas separated vacuum preloading and deep mixing piles. Customized, differentiated soft soil reinforcement solutions were deployed according to varying functions and load conditions of different campus zones to fully guarantee construction quality, safety and schedule control.
III. Core Technology: Efficient Elimination of Soft Soil Hazards
20-meter-long Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVDs) were installed across the whole site, penetrating the full silt layer to rapidly drain pore water and accelerate the consolidation of soft soil. Supported by Shengzhou’s core patented technology — the water-gas separated vacuum preloading method and equipment (Patent No.: 2013104813139), the construction efficiency is 2.5 times higher than conventional processes, with advantages of low energy consumption, stable negative pressure and zero pressure loss.A full automatic control system was applied to realize controllable construction and precise site management. For each soft soil treatment zone in this project, only one cable and one electrical control cabinet are required, eliminating the tangled web of cables typical of traditional vacuum preloading and delivering superior safety and operability.
Finally, deep cement mixing piles were constructed for supplementary reinforcement, forming an integrated high-strength foundation that thoroughly prevents settlement and deformation and eliminates relevant hidden risks at the source.
IV. Consolidating Solid Foundations to Empower the Greater Bay Area’s Future
Transforming a silt wetland into a world-class campus, this soft ground improvement project successfully overcame construction challenges of coastal silt strata. With innovative technologies and refined construction management, it laid a stable underground foundation for The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou).A solid ground is the foundation of buildings, as well as the cornerstone for a top university’s development. This infrastructure transformation on former silt land not only demonstrates outstanding engineering capacity, but also witnesses Nansha’s remarkable upgrade from fish pond wetlands to a world-class science and innovation hub. The robust foundation will continuously support the university’s education and scientific innovation, enabling HKUST (Guangzhou) to fuel high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Source: Guangzhou Sunzo Foundation Engineering Co., Ltd.
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