Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has been awarded the contract for the protection of a 7 kilometer stretch of coastline in Cotonou, Benin in Western Africa. The contract was awarded by the Ministry of housing, environment and coastal protection of the Republic of Benin and has a value of more than € 35 million. The project is due to start in the second half of 2009 and will be completed over a 3-year period.
The project requires the refurbishing of an existing groin and the construction of seven new groins into the sea to prevent further erosion of the coastline. The refurbishment and construction will be carried out with dry earth moving equipment. The groins will be constructed using 600,000 ton of rock sourced from local quarries.
The Boskalis strategy is designed to benefit from the key macro-economic drivers that are fueling global demand in our selected markets: global trade, increasing energy consumption, expanding population pressures and the challenges of changing climate conditions. This coastal protection project is driven by population growth and climate change.