The harbour at Ijmuiden on the Dutch coast north of Rotterdam is a port in its own right with direct access to the sea but it is also the access point for ships that want to enter the North Sea Canal. Preparations for the construction of a new larger sea lock at the Ijmuiden complex are now well under way.
The North Sea Canal canal is a major Dutch waterway which allows ships into the dock complex at Amsterdam. To protect the water levels in the canal and the docks, there is an entrance lock to the canal at Ijmuiden and it is the size of this lock that dictates the size of ships that can enter the waterway.
The current lock complex at Ijmuiden comprises four locks with the Northern lock being the largest with a length of 400 metres, a width of 50 metres and a depth of 15 metres. These measurements are the actual size of the lock and obviously the size of ship that can use the lock will be somewhat smaller with the draft restricted to 13.72 metres. When it was built in 1929 this lock was the largest lock in the World. The other locks in the complex are smaller at 220, 110 and 110 metres in length, the latter two being mainly designed for inland waterway craft. Now the port operators at Amsterdam are finding that the size restrictions imposed by these lock dimensions are restricting trade at the port, particularly the size of cruise ships that can reach Amsterdam.
Preparations for the construction of a new larger sea lock at the Ijmuiden complex are now well under way. Havenbedrijf Amsterdam NV, the Amsterdam port authority is participating in these preparations jointly with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Dutch Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, the City of Amsterdam and the Province of North Holland. The Rijkswaterstaat will oversee the whole project.
The Noordersluis lock, the largest of the group of locks in Ijmuiden will reach the end of its useful technical life in 2029 after 100 years of service and therefore needs to be replaced. This will ensure the safety of the lock as an important water barrier that controls water levels over much of the region and the accessibility of the North Sea Canal Area. The new lock will be located between this Northern lock and the other locks and this location will allow the lock system to remain in operation whilst the construction work is carried out.
The size of the new lock which is scheduled to have an overall length of 718 metres will accommodate the trend towards increasing ship dimensions and will ensure that the Amsterdam port area remains accessible for the new generation of larger-sized vessels such as cruise ships, bulk carriers and container ships, all of which currently use the port. A larger, tide-independent lock will also limit waiting times for ships and provide opportunities for capacity expansion of the sea lock.
It is planned that the new lock will have an effective length of 500 metres, allowing ships of this length to use the lock. The width of the lock will allow ships with a beam of between 65 and 70 metres to pass through will space allowed for tugs to work in the lock when escorting ships. The sill level in the new locks will be set at 18 metres which should comfortably allow larger ships to enter the Port of Amsterdam. It is anticipated that this larger lock will allow considerably larger cruise ships into Amsterdam which are an important source of revenue.
Simulation tests for the new lock have been carried out at the Marin test centre at Wageningen and were based around a 400 metre long bulk carrier. The model testing was established with the locks using roller gates at each end that could be rolled back into recesses in the lock wall to allow ships free passage.
On 26 November 2014, the City Council of Amsterdam gave its support to the accelerated and expanded construction of the new large sea lock in Ijmuiden. The one-off investment for the project was given the green light and two weeks later, on 11 December 2014, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Province of North Holland and the City of Amsterdam signed an administrative agreement on the accelerated construction of the large new sea lock in Ijmuiden.
As part of this accelerated programme the Dutch Highways and Waterways Agency (Rijkswaterstaat) plans to award the construction of the new Ijmuiden sea lock to the Consortium OpenIJ, which has been named the project's preferred bidder. No price has been revealed for the value of this contract.
After contract closure, the consortium which comprises the European construction group of
Royal BAM Group, the Dutch construction group Volker Wessels and DIF, which is an independent Dutch investor in infrastructure projects, were awarded the contract. The latter manages over €2 billion of funds which are mainly inverted in long term infrastructure projects. BAM and Volker Wessels will be responsible for the design and construction of the new lock whilst DIF will be mainly responsible for the financing of the project. In addition the contract makes the consortium responsible for the maintenance of the new lock for a period of 26 years. The dredging activities associated with this project which mainly entails the dredging of the approach channels for larger ships will be carried out by subcontractors Boskalis and Van Oord.
BAM is currently constructing the two new sea locks in Antwerp in joint venture with Brunsbattel and so brings lock construction experience to the project.
This new lock construction at Ijmuiden is part of Rijkswaterstaat's Locks Program, which includes 5 other projects: Lock Limmel, the 2nd lock at Eefde, the 3rd Beatrix Lock, the sea lock at Terneuzen and the Afsluitdijk. The construction of the new Ijmuiden Lock is scheduled for completion in 2019 with work starting early next year.
By Dag Pike
