Going Dutch to help conquer the rising seas

Yahoo – AFP, Nicolas Delaunay, 27 Oct 2015

The Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier (Oosterscheldekering) in Vrouwenpolder,

The Netherlands (AFP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

Zeeland (Netherlands) (AFP) - Had nature been left to take its course much of the Netherlands would be a muddy swamp and the tiny coastal nation would never have risen to be the eurozone's fifth largest economy.

More than half of the country's 17 million people live in low-lying at risk areas, but thanks to hard work, perseverance and a lot of technical savvy they snuggle safely behind an ingenious network of 17,500 kilometres (10,800 miles) of dykes, dunes and barrages.

After struggling against the seas for hundreds of years, the Netherlands prides itself on being the "safest delta" on the planet and now exports its expertise around the world.

As water levels rise thanks to climate change and turbulent weather patterns unleash fierce storms, Dutch know-how in protecting low-lying areas has turned the country into the leader in its field.

"It's thanks to our history," Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told AFP. "We have been battling for centuries to hold back the seas."

Just like the legend of the boy who stuck his finger in crumbling dyke, necessity has been the mother of invention.

As water levels rise thanks to climate change and turbulent weather patterns

 unleash fierce storms, Dutch know-how in protecting low-lying areas has turned

the country into the leader in its field (AFP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

Dutch companies now account for some 40 percent of the global dredging business open to international competition.

"Water is not so much a threat, but an asset. It can bridge economy and ecology," said Henk Ovink, the country's special representative on water issues.

More than 70 percent of the country's gross domestic product is produced on land at risk of flooding. Amsterdam's sprawling Schiphol airport -- the fifth busiest in Europe -- should by rights be a playground for fish.

Floods trauma

The turning point for the Netherlands came in 1953 when devastating floods swept in from the North Sea killing 1,835 people and leaving 72,000 homeless in the southwest.

Traumatised and shocked, the Dutch decided the only way forward was to improve their sea defences.

"Now Holland's level of protection is 100 to a 1,000 times better than most other countries," said Bart Schultz, a researcher at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education based in Delft.

The Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier is a gargantuan construction stretching an impressive nine kilometres (five miles) between the southern islands of Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland.

Thanks to a series of massive sluice gates it can completely close off the mouth of the estuary, preventing the unpredictable North Sea from surging through.

But simpler solutions also work. A huge man-made sand bank, bigger than 200 football fields, was inaugurated in December 2011 just south of The Hague.

The giant Maeslant surge barrier guards the entrance to the largest

port in Europe, Rotterdam (AFP Photo/Kina Rob Doolaard)

Like a pregnant belly it juts out into the sea from the beach, and swept by the winds and tides protects the beautiful dunes behind from erosion.

According to the UN's Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change, the oceans rose some 19 centimetres (seven inches) from 1901 to 2010.

They predict sea levels will now rise from 26 to 82 centimetres by 2100 compared with the end of the 20th century.

Deltas at risk

And the world's burgeoning and resource-rich delta zones where some 10 percent of the world's population lives are at the greatest risk, according to the Delta Alliance organisation.

It's here that Dutch technology has proved so valuable. Some 2,500 Dutch firms work in the water industry, doing some 17 billion euros of business every year, said Lennart Silvis, director of the Netherlands Water Partnership.

After Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans in August 2005, the Netherlands played a huge role in reconstructing the city's sea defences.

That led to an increased cooperation with the United States, and when Hurricane Sandy hit New York and Jersey in 2012, Dutch help was again called upon.

After struggling against the seas for hundreds of years, the Netherlands prides

itself on being the 'safest delta' on the planet (AFP Photo/Koen Suyk)

"There is often huge interest after a disaster. But we would like to see greater preventative work which will help protect people in the long term," said Schultz van Haegen.

In Southeast Asia, Dutch experts have worked to shore up defences from Jakarta to the Mekong delta.

"Obviously we need to protect against the water, but there are other aspects of urban planning such as purification and access to drinking water, or even how to build roads," said Silvis.

Learning to live with the water has also spurred creative thinking -- Dutch experts are researching how to farm with salt-water, or how to produce energy by mixing salt and fresh water.

From building floating platforms off the Philippines to restoring wetlands areas in Kenya and Uganda, it seems there are no limits.

And there's even a little room for some luxury, when it comes to mastering the seas.

Sand islands shaped into a palm-tree and a network of islands formed like a map of the world off Dubai are the work of the Dutch international dredging company Van Oord.

'Great Garuda' wall to save Jakarta from rising sea level

A plan to build a billion-dollar dam to stop Indonesia's capital Jakarta from sinking into the sea has been launched. The project will take 30 years to complete, and create housing and jobs for almost a million people.

Deutsche Welle, 3 Nov 2014

The Garuda is a powerful, mythical creature, and the emblem of the Republic of Indonesia. It originally comes from an Indian myth, in which the creature – half-man, half-eagle - steals an elixir from the gods that promises immortality. The Jakarta metropolis is now trying to ensure its own future, by building the "Great Garuda" – a 35-kilometer-long protective wall in the shape of its namesake. The wall is placed on the country's coastline a few kilometers out to sea, designed to protect Indonesia's capital from the rising sea level.

Sinking metropolis, rising sea

The situation for the bustling metropolis is alarming. Built on a former swamp, Jakarta is serviced by drains largely left over from the Dutch colonial area. There is virtually no functioning waste disposal system, and clean water is in constant demand. So much groundwater is pumped into the city that the soil level sinks by about seven centimeters per year – in some districts this doubles to 14 centimeters. Meanwhile, ongoing climate change is seeing sea levels rise around the world. "This combination means that in 10 to 15 years large parts of Indonesia will be underwater," says Victor Coenen, team leader with Dutch construction company Witteveen + Bos' Jakarta office, who is the main contractor on the construction of the wall. At least half a million people will be directly affected by the wall's construction.

 A graphic of the finished Garuda
dam project

The Garuda dam project will help provide clean drinking water for Jakarta's residents

Now, in a joint initiative between the Indonesian and Dutch governments, a rescue plan has been formulated – one that will radically change the entire city's coastline. Behind the gigantic protective wall several lagoons will be built, acting as catchments for the thirteen rivers that flow into the Java Sea, while hopefully also helping to stop the annual flooding of parts of the capital during the rainy season. "All these rivers are so dirty we thought we should try tackle this problem at the same time," Coenen told DW. So that the lagoons don't also become polluted, sewage and water treatment plants, as well as garbage disposal infrastructure, will be built throughout the city. In addition, the dam is equipped with large pumping stations, helping to provide drinking water for the city's residents.

Integrated into the cityscape

During the project's implementation, both governments will rely on the expertise of several Dutch construction companies who already have experience with similar projects along the Dutch coast – though not on a scale like this. "Various components of this plan have already been implemented elsewhere in the world," says Coenen, referring, for instance, to the 30 kilometer-long Afsluitdijk, which has separated the IJssel River from the North Sea in his homeland since the 1930s. "What has not been done," the engineer continued, "is to completely integrate such a mammoth dam into a cityscape. There we are definitely entering uncharted territory."

Furthermore, behind the dam, on several artificially- created islands, a whole new neighborhood will rise, with housing for around 300,000 people and 600,000 new jobs. For this to happen the current coastline will have to be extended seven kilometers out into the sea. "This housing is desperately needed for a rapidly expanding Jakarta," says Coenen. "At the same time, the wall will have to be integrated into the new coastline. The difficulty lies in running the wall through the city, so that's it not easily recognisable."

A mammoth task

The "Great Garuda" wall in Jakarta is truly a mammoth project. It will cost up to 40 million US-dollars to construct, and is estimated to take around 35 years to complete. "It will be one of the three largest dams ever built in the world," says Victor Coenen. But he is confident the purely technical side at least will not be too problematic. "Many construction companies can handle a project like this. They have already proven they can do it."

More difficult is the financing, and the management of the project, which the Indonesian government is looking after. "If you just build a dam, that's no problem. Just sign a contract with a building contractor, you pay, and he delivers," said Coenen. "But if you are essentially building an entire new city, then there are so many contractors that it can be almost impossible to keep all the finances under control" – especially in a country like Indonesia, where rampant corruption remains a major problem.

"Large projects always involve large risks," said Coenen. But Jakarta is running out of time, and the engineer believes in the success of the project, even if he will not be in office when it is completed. By 2030 the dam will be standing, "but only in the middle of the century," said Coenen, "will the entire project be completed." This means it could take another 40 years for Garuda to lay his protective wings around Indonesia's capital.

Related Article:

'Great wall of Jakarta' plan to combat floods

Dutch dredging firms win new Suez Canal mega contract

DutchNews.nl, Monday 20 October 2014

(NOS/EPA)

Dutch dredging companies Boskalis and Van Oord have acquired a hotly contested contract to build a second Suez canal in Egypt. The contract is worth around $1.5bn, the Financieele Dagblad reported at the weekend.

‘It’s one of the biggest dredging jobs of the decade’, the paper quotes Boskalis ceo Peter Berdowski as saying.

The contract was signed at the weekend by the Egyptian prime-minister and the head of the  Suez Canal Authorities (SCA). Boskalis and Van Oord have formed a consortium with Belgian company Jan de Nul and NMDC from Abu Dhabi.

Congestion

The plan to build a second Suez Canal parallel to the existing canal was announced by president Al-Sisi in August. It is meant to put an end to the one way traffic in some parts of the canal and avoid congestion on one of the most important shipping routes in the world.

The project will also bring employment to the area, revive the economy and give a boost to national pride, the FD writes.

The canal generates some $5bn in toll revenue a year which makes it the Egypt’s biggest earner. A parallel shipping lane will almost double the number of ships that pass through the canal and take it from 49 to 97 ships a day. The Egyptian government expects toll revenue to rise to over $13bn annually.

Challenge

The consortium is going to have to remove 180 million cubic meters of sand in order to dig the 24 meter deep, 50km long canal. Time is short: the consortium only has ten months to finish the job and dredging boats from all over the world are converging on Egypt. ‘It’s going to be an enormous challenge,’ Berdowski is quoted as saying.

The Dutch consortium pipped the China Harbor Engineering & Construction (Chec) to the post, ‘probably because we were the only ones who could come up with the material in such a short amount of time,’ Berdowski told the FD.

Related Article:

'Great wall of Jakarta' plan to combat floods

'Great wall of Jakarta' plan to combat floods

Yahoo – AFP, Sam Reeves, 15 Oct 2014

Children residing in the slum area play along a dyke as construction of the

Jakarta sea wall begins, October 9, 2014 (AFP/Photo By Romeo Gaca)

Jakarta has launched a multi-billion-dollar scheme to build a huge sea wall to combat flooding as the Indonesian capital sinks, but there is scepticism about its chances of success in a country with a history of corruption and failed megaprojects.

The 35-kilometre (22-mile) wall, across the Bay of Jakarta off the city's northern coast, is the centrepiece of a project that will cost up to $40 billion over three decades, and also includes reclaiming land for 17 new islands.

The whole project will form the shape of a Garuda, the mythical bird that is Indonesia's national symbol.

Children residing in the slum area play 

along a dyke as construction of the 

Jakarta sea wall begins, October 9, 

2014 (AFP/Photo By Romeo Gaca)

While the aim is to prevent floods, it is hoped up to one million people will live and work on the islands, and help take pressure off a crowded city notorious as one of the world's most uninviting urban sprawls.

Supporters of the project, which officially got under way last week and is run by the Indonesian government with help from Dutch experts, say it is the only long-term solution.

"It's a life-and-death situation," said Purba Robert M. Sianipar, a senior economics ministry official with a key role in the project, adding hundreds were at risk of losing their lives from severe flooding if action was not taken.

However, some wonder whether such an ambitious plan will ever be completed, given Indonesia's bad record on infrastructure projects, such as plan to build a monorail in Jakarta that was embroiled in a storm of corruption six years ago.

Chief Economics Minister Chairul Tanjung suggested as much at last week's launch event, saying disagreements with future governments could knock the project off schedule.

Others question the approach entirely, saying the project will not stop the city from sinking, while graft is also a major danger, with officials sometimes awarding tenders to unsuitable firms in exchange for large kickbacks.

Jakarta has long been hit by floods during the rainy season, when tropical downpours cause rivers to burst their banks and deluge inadequate drainage systems, forcing tens of thousands out of their homes.

Residents gather along a dyke in Jakarta

as construction of the Indonesian capital's

 sea wall begins, October 9, 2014 (AFP/

Photo By Romeo Gaca)

However in 2007, a new type of flood set alarm bells ringing.

Rivers could stop flowing

Slum neighbourhoods were inundated when a high tide surged over sea defences in northern Jakarta, something that had never happened before and which highlighted the severe land subsidence in many areas.

As Jakarta has rapidly grown to a population of about 10 million, increased water extraction for drinking has caused the ground to compact and parts of the city to sink, a problem seen in other coastal conurbations, such as Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

Parts of coastal north Jakarta, which is built on soft clay, are sinking as fast as 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) a year, meaning they could be metres below sea level in a few decades, according to those behind the sea wall project.

"Basically we are pumping ourselves into the ground," said Victor Coenen, from Dutch consultants Witteveen and Bos, which devised the master plan for the project.

The subsidence also means the 13 rivers in Jakarta may sink below sea level and stop flowing, increasing the risk of inundations.

After the 2007 floods -- which forced hundreds of thousands out of their homes -- officials scrambled to come up with a plan.

It involves strengthening the current, low sea defences over the next few years to provide temporary protection for north Jakarta, home to more than four million people.

A wall of giant iron reinforcement pipes is installed during the construction

of the Jakarta sea wall, October 9, 2014 (AFP/Photo By Romeo Gaca)

Work will then begin on the main wall, which will sit six to eight kilometres (four to five miles) from the coast and will be seven metres (23 feet) above sea level.

Construction of the wall will be finished between 2025 and 2030, while development on the islands -- which will have a mix of high-end and low-cost housing -- could take another decade.

A huge reservoir will be created between the islands and sea wall, where water from downpours can be stored so it does not flood the city, and into which rivers will be able to flow freely.

Plans are also in progress to slow the land subsidence by providing piped water to Jakarta from other areas and stop extraction of ground water.

Related Articles:

Groundbreaking event starts work on Jakarta's ambitious 40 billion coastal development NCICD project

Jakarta to Start With Ambitious $34b Giant Sea Wall Project

Draft of the Master Plan for National Capital Integrated Coastal Development. 
(JG Screen Grab courtesy of the website of the Coordinating Ministry of
Economic Affairs)

Help on the way to dredge city waterways

Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta  | Sat, 11/15/2008 11:04 AM  

The Netherlands is sending two heavy dredging machines to Jakarta in order to help the city tackle flooding. 

Team leader of the Dutch Assistance Jakarta Flood Management Pilot Dredging Project, Peter Vroege, said the equipment would be used for two narrow and shallow waterways, the Mati and Pademangan canals in North Jakarta. 

The city administration expects to dredge between 20,000 and 30,000 cubic meters of mud from Mati and Pademangan canals. Mati canal is 2,000 meters long and 12 meters wide, while Pademangan is 2,000 meters long and 2-3 meters wide. 

Vroege said his team would operate the dredging equipment, dubbed floating bulldozers, for three months, from Nov. 24 to February, before giving them to the city administration. 

"We will train the officers at the public works agency so they will be able to operate the equipment on other waterways," he said, adding that the equipment had been used for the last 25 years in the Netherlands. 

Jakarta Public Works Agency head Wisnu Subagyo Yusuf said the pilot project would teach the Jakarta administration the best way to dredge small waterways using the equipment. 

"It doesn't mean the equipment can stop flooding though. It works best on small waterways," he said. 

The equipment is worth 700,000 euros, consisting of one medium-sized floating bulldozer, one small-sized floating bulldozer, spare parts and a rotating drum, which will separate the mud from garbage. 

The floating bulldozers push the mud up to the excavator and rotating drum, and then pack the mud into dump trucks. The mud will be put on a two-hectare plot of land belonging to beach management company PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol. 

To finance the operational costs, the city administration has allocated Rp 1.5 billion in the 2008 revised budget. The budget will cover the cost of diesel for the bulldozers and trucks as well as the cost of establishing an office for the training session. 

Vroege said the equipment arriving at Tanjung Priok Port was a substitute before the new equipment arrived in early January, adding that his team would finish the tender process for the new equipment by next week. 

"However, we must start dredging before the rainy season. We shipped one machine to see if it fit in the waterways and to make some adjustment. So that when the equipment arrives, we can operate them straight away," he said. 

Besides dredging the waterways, the Pilot Dredging Project will also involve the public in the flood mitigation plan. 

"We will hold a neighborhood cleaning program so that communities living near the waterways can clean small canals and gutters in their neighborhood. We will also hold solid waste management to reduce waste from the sources," Vroege said.