The work at the Princess Amalia Harbour is part of Rotterdam Port Authority’s plans for a major expansion of container throughput.
The construction of the quays marks the start of the further development of the harbour. The development will increase annual throughput capacity in the port of Rotterdam by four million standard containers (TEU).
The new building work will be on either side of the harbour, which is approximately 2.5km long. In total, this includes 1,825m of deep-sea quay, 160m of inland shipping quay and 360m of earth-retaining walls. Barring 725m, this means that the entire harbour basin, which went into use in 2015, will be enclosed. The project also includes the construction of a 160m waiting area for general use by inland shipping vessels. The completion of the first 500m of quay wall is expected in late 2022. The final part of the project is to be completed no more than eighteen months later.
In addition to the construction of the quays, which will have a retaining height of 29m, the work also involves dredging the quays to a depth of more than 20m below sea level. In order to accommodate the future container cranes, a rear crane track of approximately 1.8km will be constructed on piles.
The quays will be equipped with a wide range of sensors to monitor forces and any deformations. In addition, ECOncrete blocks will be installed at two locations. These act as artificial reefs to stimulate underwater biodiversity.
Boudewijn Siemons, chief operating officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said: “We are looking forward to working with Hochtief, Ballast Nedam and Van Oord, on the basis of the values we share with them in terms of safety and sustainability.”
The project was examined from the perspective of various disciplines, including working with partners in the supply chain, to come up solutions. For example, the project will be reducing disruption in the local area by transporting most of the construction materials over water. “That allows us to ensure that the operations of the container terminals can continue interrupted during the course of the project,” he said.
Mark van der Hoeven, director Netherlands at Van Oord, added: “We are paying special attention to reducing emissions during the execution, for instance by using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). HVO fuel has a carbon reduction of 89 percent compared with diesel and has lower emissions of particulates, nitrogen and sulphur. By deploying equipment powered by HVO as well as electric construction equipment, we are working fully in line with the Port Authority's ambitions to significantly reduce harmful emissions.”
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