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Land reclamation

Boskalis is a global expert in sustainable and cost-competitive land reclamation. We use various techniques to reclaim land and protect shorelines using our state-of-the-art fleet of dredging vessels and specialized equipment. Soil can be improved through drainage and compacting techniques in preparation of the construction of airport runways, commercial and industrial areas, wind parks and recreational areas.

New land thanks to economically and ecologically sound solutions

With years of experience, we can handle the entire process – from feasibility study through to project completion. Our state-of-the-art dredging vessels and specialized equipment ensure performance and cost efficiency. Their large capacity means that land can be reclaimed at an attractive cost. Similarly, our innovative soil consolidation and compacting techniques enable you to considerably reduce construction time and save costs. We can even provide financing assistance thanks to our close relations with financial institutions.

Re-use of sand and sediment

Our aim is to re-use as much of the sand as possible for land reclamation when deepening waterways and ports. Not all the sand that we wish to use for this purpose is suitable, but thanks to innovations and research we are now able to re-use sand and sediment that was previously unusable. The innovative building with silt on the Marker Wadden nature restoration project is a good example of this.

Our projects

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Beach replenishment, Newbiggin Bay

Newbiggin by the Sea was once a seaside resort, with the residential area focused around the bay. The beach has severely eroded over the years. If the coastline would continue to recede, sea walls could begin to collapse, imperilling coastline properties. The falling beach levels and increased risk of seawall failure led to a strategy and proposal to import beach fill, along with construction of an offshore breakwater to retain material. Boskalis expanded the existing beach and protected it from erosion.

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Dredging, reclamation,
reconstruction and environmental
monitoring works, Vilufushi

The Republic of the Maldives consists of 1,190 small coral islands grouped into 26 atolls. Only 200 islands are inhabited. On 26 December 2004, a tsunami originating from Indonesian waters struck the Maldives. This natural disaster had major economic, social and environmental consequences. Of the 200 inhabited islands, 13 were totally destroyed and 56 suffered major damage, including the island of Vilufushi in Thaa Atoll. Houses and infrastructure were heavily damaged. All the surviving residents had to be evacuated to the neighboring island of Buruni to the west of Vilufushi. The government of the Maldives decided to reconstruct the entire island and to extend it considerably by landfilling the shallow reef. Boskalis International was appointed for this work.

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Removal of overburden for bauxite mine, Klaverblad

Surinam’s alumina exports accounted for 70% of the total export figures. Aluminum is produced from bauxite and so bauxite mining was one of the country's vital industries. Growing demand for metals in fast-growing economies led BHP Billiton Maatschappij to open up a fourth mine alongside the three bauxite mines they already operated in Surinam. The mine location on the banks of the River Surinam was covered by a thick layer of clay. Borehole information and surveys showed that an area of about 130 ha needed to be cleared of bush, followed by the removal of the top layer and dewatering to an average depth of 14 meters. Safety and the prevention of dredging-related turbidity in the river were areas requiring particular attention.

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Maintenance, Martin Garcia channel

The Rio Parana is the principal fairway for transporting the massive exports of agricultural products from the fertile plains of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. Ocean going vessels sail the Parana River to the loading terminals in the Rosario region, situated 300 km upstream from the Rio de La Plata estuary. Both the Rio Parana and the Rio Uruguay flow into the Rio de la Plata. The Rio de la Plata can be described as a shallow inland-sea with natural depths between 1 and 6 m. The mouth of the Rio Parana from the Ocean is approximately 250 km. The Rio de la Plata has a width of 40 km on the upstream side near Buenos Aires and about 200 km downstream at the level of Montevideo.

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Dredging, reclamation and dewatering works, Gas-to-Liquids facility Escravos

The Escravos Gas-to-Liquids facility (EGTL) converts natural gas feed into high quality, environmentally superior, liquid GTL fuel, naphtha, and LPG products. The facility feed is approximately 320 million SCFD of natural gas and the facility produces approximately 33,000 BPD of products. The EGTL facility will be built on the north bank of the Escravos River tidal outlet, in the Niger Delta about 2 kilometers north of its confluence with the Atlantic Ocean on the Bight of Benin, approximately 100 nautical miles south east of Lagos, and 37 nautical miles west of Warri, Nigeria.

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Land reclamation, Half Moon Bay Island Manama

‘Half Moon Bay’ island is situated in the Seef area of Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The purpose of the island is to accommodate a future 5 Star Hotel development as well as several villas. Engineering Department Hydronamic was engaged to develop the design of the island and to provide advisory services to Boskalis Westminster Middle East. Through good co-operation between the design engineers of Hydronamic and the construction team of Boskalis Westminster Middle East innovative ideas were developed which could be integrated into the rock protection design resulting in the successful and efficient construction with significant cost savings to the project.

Our brands

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Boskalis Dragamex

Our company providing dredging and marine services in Mexico.

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Boskalis Hirdes

Our hydraulic engineering company in Germany.

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Boskalis Nederland

Infrastructure projects on land and water in The Netherlands.

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Boskalis Terramare

Expertise for demanding marine construction projects in the Nordic region.

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Boskalis Westminster

Our dredging and marine contractor in the UK.

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Boskalis Environmental

Our specialist in soil and sediment washing, as well as remediation.

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Cofra

Our specialist in ground improvement techniques.

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Dredging

For dredging and infrastructure related queries contact our Dredging department.

More about Boskalis

Building with Nature

Boskalis proactively developed Building with Nature to gain insight into the impact of hydraulic engineering projects on ecosystems.

Company profile

All about Boskalis - an overview of the company’s background, global presence, our activities, clients, and experts, and our vision for the future.

Careers

If you are interested in finding out more about what it is like to work for us, take a look at our dedicated Careers website. Here you will find our current vacancies, information about our traineeships, and much more.