News – July 11, 2008
Van Oord and Royal Haskoning plan to reclaim land for a new airport. Dutch dredging company Van Oord and consulting engineers and architects Royal Haskoning have put forward some ideas for improving the safety of The Netherlands along the coast, reducing the pressure in the Randstad area of The Netherlands, and at the same time making even better use of the scarce land in the Netherlands.
According to both companies this can be done in an innovative and feasible way. The two firms have based these ideas on the experience they have acquired in Dubai, where they have been working together for years on the Palm Islands.
Over the last few months the two organizations have been jointly studying options for a large-scale coastal extension and an airport in the North Sea.
The proposals are a response to questions that are topical in The Netherlands currently about the safety of the coast as a result of the expected rise in sea level, and the lack of space and the need to expand the residential environment in the densely populated Randstad area – the area containing Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague.
The plans for the coastal extension and new international airport are based on the knowledge and experience that both parties have developed in the course of many years while designing and executing large-scale land reclamation projects and artificial islands in the sea, including recent projects in Dubai such as the Palm Islands and The World.
Coastal extension
The companies are proposing to broaden the coastal zone by 3km, in order to enhance the safety of The Netherlands. This will create 250km2 of new land.
The proposed work is split up into phases covering the coast from the Hook of Holland to Den Helder. It will take about 25 years, and approximately 3.8 billion cubic metres of sand from the North Sea will be needed.
The companies have calculated that if one third of the ‘new land’ is zoned for residential building and offices, and the rest as a nature and recreation area, the project can be implemented on a cost neutral basis.
The concept also includes a new row of dunes three kilometres off the coast that would be able to withstand the rise in sea level. Experts are predicting increases in sea level of between 60cm and 80cm before the end of this century.
Airport in the sea
The proposal also includes a pioneering design for an international airport – about 20km from the coast – with innovative floating and rotating runways.
The airport could be operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week and would enable the Netherlands to further expand its important position as the gateway to Europe after 2025, when Schiphol Airport will have reached its maximum capacity.
Schiphol would remain a hub to which passengers from the new airport would be transported, with transport provided by high speed Maglev-type trains.
“This proposal reduces the pressure on the Randstad and the land around Schiphol, which can then be used for other purposes,” said Van Oord in a statement. “In addition, safety will be improved and the nuisance caused by noise and air pollution affecting people living near Schiphol will be reduced.”
“New, innovative and creative ideas are born by combining brain power. The collaboration between Royal Haskoning and Van Oord is proof of this,” said Van Oord’s Managing Director John van Herwijnen and Chairman of the Royal Haskoning Board of Management Jan Bout.