Geotechnical aspects of coastal and estuarine development in Malaysia

Malaysia has long stretches of coastlines, as West Malaysia is a peninsula and East Malaysia is part of a large island. Coastal and estuaries construction activities in Malaysia are widespread involving reclamation, coastal protection, port facilities and other works. The typical geotechnical problems involved in the constructions are identified. The Quaternary coastal and estuaries deposits of Malaysia are varied. In Peninsular Malaysia it encompasses the marine clays of the west coast, and sandy deposits of the east coast. In the deep estuaries of East Malaysia peaty soils are of common occurrence. Soft deposits of up to 100 meters thick have been encountered. The geology of some of the deposits is described. The engineering characteristics of the deposits as they affect the performance of the facilities are discussed. Some concepts in solving geotechnical problems encountered in the design and construction of coastal facilities are presented. Special techniques of solving some of the coastal problems such as by the construction of river mouth training, pontoon, jetty and water-front cities are mentioned.