Construction of Maasvlakte 2 enters new phase
More than 120 million m3 of sand has now been reclaimed onto the Maasvlakte 2 site.
The Port of Rotterdam says construction of the Maasvlakte 2 project continues to proceed well.
In May, the 120 millionth cu/m of sand was sprayed onto the site, which means that half of all the sand needed for the first phase of Maasvlakte 2 up to 2013 has been reclaimed and the project is therefore well on schedule.
The construction of the first quay wall began in February and the contractors’ consortium, called PUMA, has started building the hard sea defences along the northwest side of the new land.
Over the last few months, a peninsula stretching approximately 3km was reclaimed here. Now, a unique crane, the ‘Blockbuster’, is currently under construction, which will be used to position large concrete blocks as part of the sea defences. In this way, the construction of Maasvlakte 2 is entering a new phase.
Virtually the whole of the new coastline has been reclaimed but for as long as possible, a gap will be kept open in the new sea defences so that the dredgers have free access to the area.
On average, approximately eight of Boskalis and Van Oord’s trailing suction hopper dredgers are in operation for the project. Last month 11 trailing suction hopper dredgers applied 3.8m cu/m of sand to the area in the space of one week, claiming a new world record.
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