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 company said in its press release.
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.
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global services provider operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors. The company provides creative and innovative all-round solutions to infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and delta regions of the world with services including the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land reclamation, coastal defense and riverbank protection. In addition, Boskalis offers a wide variety of marine services and contracting for the oil and gas sector and offshore wind industry as well as salvage solutions. Furthermore, Boskalis has a number of strategic partnerships in harbor towage and terminal services (Kotug Smit Towage, Keppel Smit Towage, Saam Smit Towage and Smit Lamnalco). With a versatile fleet of more than 900 vessels and floating equipment and 10,700 employees, including associated companies, Boskalis operates in 90 countries across six continents.