Land Reclamation & Coastal Protection

A fundamental long-term trend in the world today is the rapid population and economic growth occurring in coastal urban areas - particularly in Asia.

The United Nations predict that 93% of the world’s total population growth will occur in the urban areas of less developed regions, most notably in China, India and Africa. Much of this growth will be in coastal areas.

But rapid growth is also occurring in coastal areas of more developed regions, such as the Gulf States, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

All of these areas need to expand and develop their infrastructure, for industrial, recreational and residential purposes. In many cases, especially in areas that have reached their natural capacity, new land is needed.

One way to increase capacity is to reclaim land from the sea. Where land is scarce, such as in Hong Kong and Singapore, airports, container ports and chemical terminals have been built on reclaimed land. Even in greenfield projects where overcrowding is not a factor, reclaimed land is often an attractive alternative.

As coastal areas become more developed and economically important, the need to protect them from theeffects of climate change intensifies. The growing incidence of extreme weather conditions around the world is placing an increasing emphasis on protecting coastal areas from rising sea levels and natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis. These factors require investment in sophisticated and largescale sea defenses - another area in which Boskalis has extensive expertise.

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Click here to read case: Protecting St. Petersburg