Location Within Country: Araihajar, Narayangonj

Mail: kobayashi@jditokyo.com

Completion date (month/year): 30 December 2018

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) plans to construct Araihazar Economic Zone (AEZ) in Araihazar, Narayanganj. Initial investigations and stakeholder consultations have established that there are 2 existing (underground) gas pipelines passing through the proposed AEZ. The pipelines belong to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd (TGTDCL). The land-use plan of AEZ, and subsequent construction works, must take into account the alignment of those pipelines in order to conform to regulations in Bangladesh. Therefore, Japan Development Institute (JDI) have engaged NewVision & Esolve International Ltd., through Environmental Quality Management and Survey (EQMS), to carry out a “Trial pit survey” to locate and identify the alignment of the existing gas pipelines.

Scope of work for Trial Pit Survey:

The scope of the assignment was as follows:

1. Consult with TGTDCL officials to locate existing gas pipelines and engage with them throughout the assignment;
2. Conduct field visits and discussions with local people to identify the possible location, alignment and depth of existing gas pipelines;
3. Carry out trial pit investigations (minimum 5) to establish location and alignment of existing gas pipelines;
4. Establish identification pillars in trial pits where pipelines have been found;
5. Prepare accurate drawing showing position and alignment of identified pipelines;

Project outcome: 

1. Project planning and survey design;

2. Data and information collection;

3. Identify the existing Gas Pipeline in the project site at the Japanese economic zone;

4. A detailed drawing including land parcel information;

4. Data analysis and report writing;

The experts/engineers of NVSL did the following tasks during that project. Reconnaissance Survey to know the route existing gas pipeline and find out the route for the new gas pipeline. Physical Route Survey to understand the feasibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of the proposed gas pipeline. Drawings of the route on Map: After the reconnaissance survey & Physical route survey, physical survey report, and Topographic survey report preparation. A step-wise approach was taken for carrying out the trial pit surveys. This included the following:

• Collection and analyses of available secondary data (such as previous survey drawings) from JDI, EQMS and TGTDCL;
• Preliminary field visits and discussions with local people to establish lay of the land and identify potential risks and challenges for locating existing underground gas pipelines;
• Construction of trial pits using manual tools and local labour;
• Processing of field data;
• Consultations with TGTDCL and BEZA regarding trial pit survey findings;
• Preparation of drawings and report
• Excavation works began on the 1st of September and were completed on the 15th of September. In total, 5 Trial Pits were carried out.