ASIAWORLD-EXPO, a world-class exhibition and event venue offering more than 70,000 square metres of space for trade fairs, conventions, concerts, sports and entertainment events, is set to open in Hong Kong in December.
Fantech, via its HK distributor, Anway Engineering, has supplied smoke exhaust fans that incorporate guide vanes plus some of the largest motors used in building services fans. With a budget of more than $400m, AsiaWorld-Expo is, in turn, part of a huge project called SkyCity being built on a 100 hectare landscaped peninsula linked to Hong Kong International Airport.
Phase 1 of SkyCity not only includes AsiaWorld-Expo but also SkyPlaza, an office and retail complex, SkyPier, a crossboundary ferry terminal, and a 9-hole golf course. A business park, hotels, and leisure and entertainment facilities are planned.
AsiaWorld-Expo is the world’s only exhibition/event venue fully integrated with an international airport and in-venue railway station. It is at the centre of an air, land and marine transport hub connecting Hong Kong with China’s Pearl River Delta and the world’s business capitals. The complex has 10 one-storey, column-free exhibition halls, which required specialist input when it came to air movement.
Specially designed smoke exhaust fans were developed using guide vanes. “Guide vane technology has been around a long time, but with the fan options now available, is not often used these days,” Ray Werrett, International Sales Engineer, said. “In this situation, the static pressure of the fans needs to be very high to do the job the engineers require.
“Guide vanes boost static pressure. In simple terms, when added to a fan, guide vanes straighten the swirling air off the fan.” Further, because of the project’s sheer dimensions – one of the purpose-built entertainment arenas will be Hong Kong’s largest indoor seated venue - engineers called for motors with significant output, the largest being 90kW.
“The fans are based on standard sizes, but with adjustment to the pitch of impellers, then motor sizes have also to be adjusted to suit output specifications,” said Ray. “It’s not often that we would use a 90kW motor for fans in a building. There would not be too many in Australia.”
For client support, fan components were made in Australia and sent to Hong Kong where they were assembled at Anway. (See story, above). Upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport, overseas exhibitors and buyers can either take a train direct to AsiaWorld-Expo and arrive in less than two minutes, or take a few minutes to walk there, with direct footpath connection.
AsiaWorld-Expo’s strategic location means that it is within five hours’ flying time of half the world’s population. There are also easy connections from it to all other major Hong Kong destinations via the Airport Express or MTR train network.
