HomeWater Loading Preloading Works for Soft Ground Improvement Project in Kalimantan, Indonesia
Release time：Jul 30,2026
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In overseas industrial infrastructure construction across Southeast Asia, riparian swamp and marine alluvial deposits are widely recognized as challenging ground conditions. Sites of this type feature uneven soft soil thickness, extremely weak soil mass and very low permeability, which are prone to differential settlement, soil sliding and instability. Conventional ground improvement techniques can hardly balance construction quality and safety.
Taking the soft ground improvement project in Kalimantan, Indonesia as a case study, this paper elaborates on the scheme selection rationale for complicated swamp soft soil and practical advantages of water loading preloading technology, providing references for similar overseas soft ground projects.
I. Site Conditions: Typical Complicated Swamp Soft Soil Stratum
The project is located in the industrial core of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The site belongs to riparian fluvial swamp and marine flood plain landform. Although the overall terrain is flat, natural gullies and man-made ditches crisscross the site with uneven local topography, resulting in highly variable geological conditions.
Major construction challenges lie in the soft soil stratum:
• Great variation in soft soil thickness and highly irregular stratum distribution;
• Extremely low soil strength and poor permeability leading to slow drainage consolidation;
• High soil sensitivity; deformation easily occurs under construction disturbance;
• High risks of engineering defects including differential settlement, ground heave and soil sliding instability.
Due to complicated soil and terrain conditions, conventional surcharge preloading and vacuum preloading have obvious limitations in application, constituting key difficulties for ground improvement of this project.
II. Scheme Selection Rationale: Why Water Loading Preloading is Preferred
In consideration of site characteristics including waterfront location, sufficient water supply, sensitive soft soil and complicated strata, after comparison of multiple alternatives, the project team adopted the combined method of PVD surcharge preloading (soil surcharge + water loading preloading) for full-site soft ground improvement. The key reasons for this selection are listed below:
1、Suitable for highly sensitive soft soil with minimum construction risks
Water loading is a flexible uniform load that applies pressure evenly via hydrostatic weight without rigid lateral extrusion force. For the slippery, highly sensitive swamp soft soil on site, it completely avoids risks such as soil extrusion, slope failure and ground instability, delivering far higher construction safety than soil surcharge preloading.
2、Uniform load to tackle differential settlement
The site is covered with gullies and undulating terrain. Solid soil surcharge tends to cause uneven local pressure and incomplete improvement. In contrast, water flows automatically to form a level surface and provides consistent preloading across the whole site. It effectively mitigates uneven improvement caused by complex topography, greatly reduces subsequent differential settlement, and meets high-precision construction requirements for industrial yards.
3、Strong site adaptability and favorable economic performance
Located adjacent to the river, the site enjoys abundant water resources and natural conditions for water storage construction. Compared with vacuum preloading (stringent sealing requirements and high equipment maintenance costs) and soil surcharge preloading (mass earth transportation, dust pollution and long construction period), water loading preloading features simplified procedures, low equipment investment and lower overall cost, which better fits the management requirements of overseas projects.
4、Controllable loading & unloading with minimal disturbance to undisturbed soil
Construction is implemented by staged water filling, pressure maintaining and steady water pumping for unloading. No mechanical compaction or excavation disturbance occurs throughout the process, which maximally protects the fragile swamp soft soil and ensures stable consolidation quality.
5、Combination with soil surcharge raises preloading pressure and overcomes insufficient load of soil surcharge alone
If soil surcharge is used independently, a large fill height is required, bringing considerable safety hazards. Combined water loading can increase preloading pressure while achieving higher safety and environmental friendliness, making full use of water resources.
III. Core Functions of Water Loading Preloading Construction
In this project, water loading preloading combined with PVD vertical drainage system forms an integrated soft soil consolidation system:
Uniform additional stress is continuously applied by hydrostatic weight to accelerate the discharge of pore water inside soft soil, speed up drainage consolidation and soil compaction. The technology effectively improves the overall bearing capacity of the foundation and significantly reduces post-construction settlement. It fundamentally addresses the core problems of swamp soft soil including insufficient bearing capacity, uneven settlement and poor stability, laying a solid foundation for subsequent civil works of the industrial site.
IV. Project Conclusion
For overseas industrial projects with riparian swamp, marine alluvial deposits, highly sensitive soft soil, complicated topography and adequate water supply, water loading preloading serves as a soft ground improvement solution with high safety, stable improvement quality and outstanding economic adaptability.
Compared with traditional technologies, its merits of flexible loading, full-area uniform pressure, low soil disturbance and low risks make it ideally suited for complicated swamp soft soil conditions. It can provide valuable scheme reference for similar overseas soft ground projects in Southeast Asia.
Source: Guangzhou Sunzo Foundation Engineering Co., Ltd.
If you have ground improvement requirements for your project, please contact SUNZO. We will deliver customized solutions tailored to your project conditions to support safe and efficient project delivery.
Taking the soft ground improvement project in Kalimantan, Indonesia as a case study, this paper elaborates on the scheme selection rationale for complicated swamp soft soil and practical advantages of water loading preloading technology, providing references for similar overseas soft ground projects.
I. Site Conditions: Typical Complicated Swamp Soft Soil Stratum
The project is located in the industrial core of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The site belongs to riparian fluvial swamp and marine flood plain landform. Although the overall terrain is flat, natural gullies and man-made ditches crisscross the site with uneven local topography, resulting in highly variable geological conditions.
Major construction challenges lie in the soft soil stratum:
• Great variation in soft soil thickness and highly irregular stratum distribution;
• Extremely low soil strength and poor permeability leading to slow drainage consolidation;
• High soil sensitivity; deformation easily occurs under construction disturbance;
• High risks of engineering defects including differential settlement, ground heave and soil sliding instability.
Due to complicated soil and terrain conditions, conventional surcharge preloading and vacuum preloading have obvious limitations in application, constituting key difficulties for ground improvement of this project.
II. Scheme Selection Rationale: Why Water Loading Preloading is Preferred
In consideration of site characteristics including waterfront location, sufficient water supply, sensitive soft soil and complicated strata, after comparison of multiple alternatives, the project team adopted the combined method of PVD surcharge preloading (soil surcharge + water loading preloading) for full-site soft ground improvement. The key reasons for this selection are listed below:
1、Suitable for highly sensitive soft soil with minimum construction risks
Water loading is a flexible uniform load that applies pressure evenly via hydrostatic weight without rigid lateral extrusion force. For the slippery, highly sensitive swamp soft soil on site, it completely avoids risks such as soil extrusion, slope failure and ground instability, delivering far higher construction safety than soil surcharge preloading.
2、Uniform load to tackle differential settlement
The site is covered with gullies and undulating terrain. Solid soil surcharge tends to cause uneven local pressure and incomplete improvement. In contrast, water flows automatically to form a level surface and provides consistent preloading across the whole site. It effectively mitigates uneven improvement caused by complex topography, greatly reduces subsequent differential settlement, and meets high-precision construction requirements for industrial yards.
3、Strong site adaptability and favorable economic performance
Located adjacent to the river, the site enjoys abundant water resources and natural conditions for water storage construction. Compared with vacuum preloading (stringent sealing requirements and high equipment maintenance costs) and soil surcharge preloading (mass earth transportation, dust pollution and long construction period), water loading preloading features simplified procedures, low equipment investment and lower overall cost, which better fits the management requirements of overseas projects.
4、Controllable loading & unloading with minimal disturbance to undisturbed soil
Construction is implemented by staged water filling, pressure maintaining and steady water pumping for unloading. No mechanical compaction or excavation disturbance occurs throughout the process, which maximally protects the fragile swamp soft soil and ensures stable consolidation quality.
5、Combination with soil surcharge raises preloading pressure and overcomes insufficient load of soil surcharge alone
If soil surcharge is used independently, a large fill height is required, bringing considerable safety hazards. Combined water loading can increase preloading pressure while achieving higher safety and environmental friendliness, making full use of water resources.
III. Core Functions of Water Loading Preloading Construction
In this project, water loading preloading combined with PVD vertical drainage system forms an integrated soft soil consolidation system:
Uniform additional stress is continuously applied by hydrostatic weight to accelerate the discharge of pore water inside soft soil, speed up drainage consolidation and soil compaction. The technology effectively improves the overall bearing capacity of the foundation and significantly reduces post-construction settlement. It fundamentally addresses the core problems of swamp soft soil including insufficient bearing capacity, uneven settlement and poor stability, laying a solid foundation for subsequent civil works of the industrial site.
IV. Project Conclusion
For overseas industrial projects with riparian swamp, marine alluvial deposits, highly sensitive soft soil, complicated topography and adequate water supply, water loading preloading serves as a soft ground improvement solution with high safety, stable improvement quality and outstanding economic adaptability.
Compared with traditional technologies, its merits of flexible loading, full-area uniform pressure, low soil disturbance and low risks make it ideally suited for complicated swamp soft soil conditions. It can provide valuable scheme reference for similar overseas soft ground projects in Southeast Asia.
Source: Guangzhou Sunzo Foundation Engineering Co., Ltd.
If you have ground improvement requirements for your project, please contact SUNZO. We will deliver customized solutions tailored to your project conditions to support safe and efficient project delivery.
