Boskalis to Reinforce Houtrib Dike

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) announces that the Dutch Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) intends to award the contract for the reinforcement of the Houtrib dike to Boskalis and its partner Van Oord. The contract carries a value of EUR 90 million of which Boskalis' share amounts to EUR 45 million.

The project entails the reinforcement of the Houtrib dike on both sides with sand and rock over a distance of 25 kilometers. The activities will be carried out in the period 2017-2020. The dike reinforcement project is part the Dutch Flood Protection Program, an alliance of Rijkswaterstaat and all district water boards aimed at reinforcing primary dikes in a more innovative and robust manner.

The Houtrib dike is located between Enkhuizen and Lelystad, the Netherlands, and protects large parts of the country from flooding. During storms, the dike prevents water from the IJsselmeer lake flooding into the Markermeer lake. The dike however currently does not meet the government safety standards.

As part of the Dutch Flood Protection Program, Boskalis is currently also working on the reinforcement of the Wadden Sea dike on Texel, the reinforcement of the Wadden Sea dike between the towns of Eemshaven and Delfzijl, as well as making this dike earthquake-proof, and the reinforcement of the Markermeer dikes between the towns of Hoorn and Durgerdam.