Maasvlakte 2 is sealed off from the sea

The closing of the gap in the outer seawall of the €2.9bn Maasvlakte 2 port expansion was described as “the high point” of a project currently on schedule, and within the estimated budget.

Escorted by Hans Smits, president and CEO of Port of Rotterdam Authority (PRA), and in front of around 700 invited VIP guests, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands gave the starting signal for construction consortium PUMA (Boskalis and Van Oord) to commence final closure of the 11km long seawall, three and a half years after work commenced. Two thousand hectares of new Netherlands are now protected from the sea.

The occasion was witnessed by MJ from nearby FutureLand, PRA’s Maasvlakte 2 visitor centre, where a further 500 gathered to watch the event on large screens, covered live in an hour long national television broadcast. Free Maasvlakte 2 sun hats were distributed to all in the glorious sunshine.

Around 90% of the required 215 million cubic metres of sand are now in place, the outer seawall is largely complete, work is now well advanced with the container terminals for RWG and APM Terminals, the quays of which are now in place and the bathing beach to the south was opened earlier this year (ahead of schedule).

Over previous months, the trailing suction hopper dredgers Prins der Nederlandenand VoxMáxima from Boskalis Westminster and Van Oord respectively, along with Boskalis Westminster’s cutter suction dredger Edaxhave been gradually closing the gap. On the big day, and coinciding with slack tides, they were joined by Van Oord’s TSHD Utrechtand the TSHD Crestwayfrom Boskalis Westminster. Meanwhile ashore, bulldozers, cranes and shovels have been ensuring the sprayed sand acquires the correct profile.

The closure was made easier with the earlier completion of a dam that closed off part of the inland lake, across the entrance to what will become the Alexiahaven, reducing the water flow in the closure gap. With closure of the gap, the temporary dam will now be removed. Continuous depth and flow survey measurements have been carried out to ensure that the various mathematical models coincided with reality during the various stages. The correct height and width of the seawall is expected to be reached by mid-August.

Once the missing link in the outer seawall is complete, expected to be after the summer, subcontractor BAVO will move in to complete the infrastructure, comprising road and railway, cycle path and utility cables and pipelines. The new access road is due to be opened by the end of October, after which the Yangtzehaven will be extended through to Maasvlakte 2, becoming the main access channel, at the same time releasing the temporarily ‘trapped’ CSD Edax!

By Peter Barker