A Gem for Sport at Kowloon Bay

The Hong Kong government calls Kai Tak Sports Park the most important investment in sports infrastructure in recent decades. It is intended to promote the health and well-being of citizens. Once completed, the 28-hectare Kai Tak Sports Park will be the largest sports venue in Hong Kong.

A wide range of high-end facilities promotes «sport for all» and the young sporting talent of the future. Hong Kong wants to create more opportunities for local sports students and top athletes to participate in competitions. These are the central objectives of the project.

Hosting major national and international competitions, the sports park will be the pride and eye-catcher of the entire city, especially in 2025, when Hong Kong will host the National Games together with Guangdong and Macau.

It was also important for the government to develop a landscape park for all inhabitants on the site of the former airport. Here, people will go out, stroll around, spend their free time, visit concerts, and much more. Kai Tak Sports Park is said to be a living destination that promotes positive social interaction through the power of sport and leisure. The planners speak of an «urban oasis» that meets the different needs of the public as well as professional and amateur athletes.

Suitable infrastructures

R&M data center infrastructure solution

Kai Tak Sports Park Ltd. has been implementing the master plan on behalf of the government since 2019. It’s going to run the park for 20 years. The basis is a Design-Build-and-Operate Agreement (DBO). In addition to the architectural, constructional, and logistical challenges, it pays particular attention to the integration of durable and precisely suitable infrastructures. Among other things, the planners were looking for high-quality solutions for data traffic, telephony, and security infrastructure.

A key requirement for the planned data center and the data and communications network was that the networks had to be reliable and provide stable high performance. Providers should present solutions for outdoor and indoor cabling, building connections, and data centers.

All-in-one solution for networks

Together with the local distribution partner S-PLUX, R&M offered an all-in-one solution in 2019 that quickly convinced the client. As a result, the client was able to combine all the relevant installation services under one roof.

The all-in-one solution primarily comprised high-density cabling for the local area network and data center. R&M took care of the cold aisle enclosures and matching patch panels from the Netscale family. Protective measures for cables and patch panels were also part of the solution. R&M integrated the VS distribution platform for telecommunications cabling. Technical support is part of the package.

Digital management

R&M fiber optic platform
Netscale 72

Hundreds of companies from all over the world and 3,000 team members are involved in the project. The planners supplied them with 60,000 drawings. «There is no manual for us to execute a project of this magnitude and complexity,» said Kenneth Ma, Director of Design and Build at Kai Tak Sports Park Ltd., at an expert meeting. In order to master the complexity, however, his company uses digital tools and processes based on Building Information Modeling (BIM). For the Kai Tak Sports Park project, the project team uses openBIM and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC).

Other digital tools include Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), Modular Integrated Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MiMEP), laser scanning, and photogrammetry. Everything is integrated and coordinated on a Common Data Environment (CDE) platform to speed up the project and promote communication between contractors and various trades.

Best tools

«To do a good job, a craftsman needs the best tools,» says Kenneth Ma, describing the determination to implement the huge construction project digitally. The Hong Kong Alliance of Built Asset & Environment Information Management Association (HKABAEIMA) thinks the way it works is exemplary. In March 2022, it presented the project with major prizes in the Hong Kong openBIM/openGIS Award.

R&M contributes to the success of digital project management and provides corresponding data material for cabling and data center infrastructure. Director Kenneth Ma and his team will have a fully integrated and stable data, communications, and security network.

Ready to deliver at all times

R&M high-density solution for
the data center with fiber optic
and copper distribution

An important aspect for the client was that R&M remained able to deliver during the Covid pandemic. Cost optimizations enabled the company to cope with the dramatic increase in logistics prices over the course of the project.

The success of the project underscores R&M’s market position in the Asia Pacific region. R&M stands out as a predominantly project- and customer-oriented provider of infrastructure solutions for data networks and data centers. The R&M branches in China, Singapore, and Australia are available with expertise. The two R&M plants in China manufacture and supply important infrastructure components to the region.