Contractor PUMA completes first part of Maasvlakte 2 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Dredging companies Boskalis and Van Oord delivered the first stage of Maasvlakte 2 to client Port of Rotterdam Authority on 17 April: on schedule, on budget and in accordance with the quality requirements specified.

PUMA, the joint venture of the two contractors, started the expansion of the port of Rotterdam five years ago.

Today the realisation of 700 hectares of new industrial sites, 11 kilometres of seawall, 3.5 kilometres of quay wall, 24 kilometres of roads, 14 kilometres of rail and 560 hectares of port basin is a fact.

First ships expected in May
The work now completed by PUMA is the lion’s share of the construction of Maasvlakte 2.

The Port Authority is currently working on the nautical accessibility of Maasvlakte 2; the installation of leading lights and buoys for shipping will enable Maasvlakte 2 to be opened to ships on 22 May.

In the coming year work will continue in full swing on infrastructure on the boundary between the existing port area and Maasvlakte 2.

Innovative design
The Port Authority had a budget of 1.9 billion euro for the construction of this first stage of Maasvlakte 2. The contract with PUMA is by far the largest and most striking part of the work. For this contract, with a value exceeding 1.1 billion euro, the Port Authority chose a Design, Construction and Maintenance contract.

This allowed Boskalis and Van Oord to demonstrate their innovative added value. In collaboration with the client, the design of the hard seawall was optimised as a stony dune with a block dam in front of it as a breakwater.

The gale which this innovative seawall should be able to resist occurs in statistical terms only once every 10,000 years. Scale testing demonstrated the real effectiveness of the design prior to construction.

Construction of the block dam with the specially designed Blockbuster crane.

10 years of maintenance
The contract includes a maintenance period of 10 years. Boskalis and Van Oord have undertaken to keep the entire seawall at optimum strength until 2023. Similar to the entire Dutch coastline, sand will also have to be added here to the soft seawall. Following every severe gale, the hard seawall will also be inspected and, if necessary, the cobble beach will have to be replenished.

This news item was originally published on the website Maasvlakte 2.

More information
Project organization Maasvlakte 2
Port of Rotterdam
+31 10 252 10 10
www.maasvlakte2.com