Two 160,000 m³ LNG Tanks on Soft Ground — How Did We Build Them? | Soft Soil Treatment at the Yangjiang LNG Peak-shaving Storage Project

Along the shores of Hailing Bay on the western Guangdong coast, a modern LNG peak-shaving storage facility has risen from the reclaimed land. As a key energy project under Guangdong Province’s 14th Five-Year Plan, the Yangjiang LNG Peak-shaving Storage Project will significantly strengthen natural gas supply and reserve capacity for western Guangdong and surrounding regions, driving the area’s green and low-carbon development. Behind this major energy project, Guangzhou Shengzhou Foundation Engineering Co., Ltd. has laid a rock-solid foundation with its proven soft soil treatment expertise.

1. Project Overview

The project is located in the Jishu Port Area of Yangjiang Port, Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, within the planned land area behind Berth No. 22. It involves the construction of an LNG jetty and a workboat jetty trestle, with new revetments forming an enclosed area of over 280,000 m² of reclaimed land, covering a total footprint of approximately 324,100 m².

Phase I features two 160,000 m³ full-containment LNG storage tanks, together with a dedicated jetty capable of berthing LNG carriers ranging from 8,000 to 170,000 m³. On 21 November 2025, the LNG carrier Koronis berthed safely with a full cargo of 141,000 m³ of LNG, and the first clean energy was successfully injected into the tanks — officially marking the project’s transition to the trial production stage.

Once fully operational, the project will boost natural gas supply and storage capacity in western Guangdong and beyond, ease regional energy supply pressure, and support the green growth of Yangjiang’s coastal industries.

2. Technical Challenge

The site sits on newly reclaimed land with complex ground conditions — loose soft soil layers characterized by high water content, high void ratio, low bearing capacity and high compressibility. Without effective treatment, these soils would directly jeopardize the safety and long-term stability of the storage tanks, process facilities and supporting infrastructure.

The project also faced multiple external challenges: a tight schedule, frequent typhoons, and extensive concurrent works.

Tight schedule. As a key provincial energy project, milestones were strict, and the soft soil treatment works had to be completed on time to make way for subsequent main construction.

Frequent typhoons. Typhoon activity along the western Guangdong coast in summer and autumn places extreme demands on construction organization and safety management.

Extensive concurrent works. Soft soil treatment ran in parallel with revetment and jetty works, demanding close coordination across multiple work fronts.

3. Treatment Method

Based on the site’s ground conditions and schedule requirements, Shengzhou Foundation’s technical team adopted the Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) combined with vacuum preloading method.

In this method, PVDs are installed into the soft soil as vertical drainage paths, working with a horizontal drainage system laid on the surface to form a complete drainage network. Vacuum negative pressure is then applied beneath an airtight sealing membrane, forcing pore water out of the soil under differential pressure and accelerating consolidation. This effectively improves ground bearing capacity and soil strength while reducing post-construction settlement.

4. Construction in Action

Facing a demanding schedule, heavy workloads, typhoon risks and concurrent operations, the Shengzhou Foundation team rose to the challenge, delivering every objective safely, with quality and efficiency, through scientific management and rigorous discipline.

4.1. Meticulous Construction Planning
Based on actual site conditions, the team prepared a detailed construction organization design, rationally divided the works into zones and sequenced each activity — from site clearing and sand blanket placement, through PVD installation, vacuum well-point layout and sealing membrane placement, to vacuum pumping and pressure-stabilization monitoring. Every step strictly followed the specifications and design requirements.

4.2.Rigorous Quality Control
A comprehensive quality assurance system was established throughout construction. Key parameters — including PVD spacing and installation depth, vacuum pressure and settlement — were monitored across the entire process. Technical personnel worked on site to strictly control each stage, ensuring the ground improvement results met the design requirements.

4.3.Safe and Civilized Construction
Given the typhoon-prone coastal environment, the team developed a dedicated typhoon emergency response plan and conducted regular drills. Before typhoons struck, temporary facilities were reinforced and equipment and materials secured; after each typhoon, rapid inspection and repair got work back on track, minimizing weather-related impact on the schedule.

5. Project Results

Through the team’s relentless efforts, all construction targets for the soft soil treatment works were completed safely, with quality and efficiency. Bearing capacity and settlement control indicators all met design requirements, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent construction of the storage tanks and supporting facilities.

The high-quality delivery earned high recognition from the client, showcasing Shengzhou Foundation’s technical strength and project management capability in large-scale coastal soft soil treatment.

Source: Guangzhou Sunzo Foundation Engineering Co., Ltd.
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