Posted on June 30, 2016
Royal Boskalis Westminster has confirmed that the Noorderzijlvest district water board in The Netherlands intends to award a contract for the Eemshaven-Delfzijl dike reinforcement project to a consortium consisting of Boskalis and KWS Infra. The contract has a value of more than Euros 60 million, of which Boskalis’ share is more than Euros 40 million.
The project involves raising and widening the Wadden Sea dike between Eemshaven and Delfzijl over a distance of 12km and making the dike earthquake-proof. Operations will be carried out from the end of 2016 until the end of 2019.
The project is part of the Dutch government’s flood protection programme which is being carried out by an alliance between the Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management) and all district water boards aimed at reinforcing primary dikes in a more innovative and robust manner.
At present the dike between Eemshaven and Delfzijl is strong enough but does not meet the new government standards that will apply from 2017. The reason for this is rising sea levels and climate change, as well as earthquakes and subsidence due to gas extraction operations in the area.
Source: Dredging News Online
