The contract for the design, build, finance and maintenance of the Afsluitdijk project in the Netherlands has reached financial close successfully yesterday afternoon (29 May 2018), reports BAM.
The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 330 million in support of the rehabilitation and modernization of the Afsluitdijk dam, running between the provinces of Noord-Holland and Friesland.
As one of the main flood defense infrastructure works in the Netherlands, the dam needs maintenance and modernization, expected to be completed by 2022.
Rijkswaterstaat (part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment) has awarded the Afsluitdijk project to the Levvel Consortium.
The Levvel consortium shareholders and equity providers are BAM PPP (46%), Van Oord (46%) and Rebel (8%), together with joint venture partners Aberdeen Standard Investments, APG Group, PGGM and EPICo. The design, construction and long term maintenance will be completed by BAM Infra and Van Oord Nederland.
This major causeway in the Netherlands was first completed in 1932 and closed off the saltwater Zuiderzee, turning it into a freshwater lake known today as IJsselmeer.
Starting in 2018, the top layer of the Afsluitdijk will be re-enforced and an extra water barrier in front of current locks at both ends of the dam, at Kornwerderzand and Den Oever, will be installed to combat high water from the sea.
The current scouring sluices will be rehabilitated, and special works will be carried out to create “fish passages” that will allow the re-establishment of fish migration between the sea and the interior lake.
On a technical level, the project will bring about an increase in the discharge capacity to remove water from the IJsselmeer into the sea by installing new pump systems. The project includes a small component of road improvement and maintenance works.