Posted on April 26, 2018
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has emerged as best bidder in a tender to construct an artificial island in the IJmeer lake adjacent to the existing IJburg islands. Boskalis was informed about this result by the municipality of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Based on the current plans the contract is valued at around EUR 85 million.
The project involves the construction of an artificial island in the IJmeer lake for the development of residential housing to accommodate the further growth of Amsterdam. In the initial phase around 82 hectares of land will be created by constructing both soft and hard bank protection and filling the reclamation area with nearly 9 million cubic meters of sand. In addition 3,500 kilometers of vertical drains will be used to improve the soil. The project includes an option to create an additional 53 hectares of land; this option does not form part of the contract value.
The municipality of Amsterdam is expected to award the contract in mid-May, with operations commencing in the third quarter of 2018 and scheduled to be completed in mid-2020.
In addition to this artificial island Boskalis will also create a nature area measuring more than 3 hectares and consisting of reeds and a mussel bed. Constructing the nature area in the initial phase will enable the natural elements to develop sooner.
Boskalis’ strategy is designed to benefit from the key macro-economic drivers that fuel global demand in our selected markets: global trade, increasing energy consumption, population growth and the challenges posed by climate change. This land reclamation project is closely linked to the need for new land to help cater to the growing population in a densely populated area.
Source: Boskalis
