KLCC L&M Tower - Foundation Piles XXLConstruction of the Actually Deepest Foundation Piles Ever Done by the Kelly Method in Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia-Paper

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BAUER (Malaysia) constructed 225 bored foundation piles for the Lots L, L1 and M tower development at Kuala Lumpur City Centre between June 2018 and February 2020. The project included 88 piles of 2.0 m diameter for the podium and 137 piles of 2.5 m diameter for the tower. Pile depths ranged from 41 m to a maximum of 124.5 m, with most tower piles extending beyond 100 m. The work set a documented depth record for piles installed using the Kelly drilling method.<br /><br />The unusually deep piles and variable ground conditions posed significant challenges. The Kenny Hill formation overlies highly variable, cavernous limestone, so each pile had to terminate 2 m above competent rock to reduce the risk of losing support fluid. BAUER used polymer to stabilize the boreholes and deployed BG 48 and BG 72 rigs, including a five-section telescopic Kelly bar capable of drilling to 150 m.<br /><br />Construction required precise verticality control, continuous drilling and concreting, and installation of reinforcement cages weighing up to 70 tonnes. Concrete pours reached depths of more than 100 m, while kingposts weighing up to 88.5 tonnes were installed into fresh concrete. Detailed logistics, preplanning, and 24-hour operations helped meet the requirement to complete each pile from drilling through casting within 34 hours.<br /><br />Quality assurance included load testing, concrete and material testing, verticality checks, and cross-hole sonic logging of all tower piles. Testing confirmed the required capacity and found no major integrity issues. The project was completed to the client’s requirements, with no stakeholder complaints despite the busy urban setting. It also achieved 619,014 work hours without a lost-time accident.

Keywords

bored foundation piles

Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Kelly drilling method

deep foundation

pile construction

limestone formation

polymer stabilization

BG 48 rig

BG 72 rig

load testing