Dutch construction firm Boskalis has been awarded an €85m contract to expand the city of Amsterdam by building an artificial island in the Ijmeer, the 8km-wide stretch of water that separates the city from the town of Almere to the east.
The new land will be dredged up near to six other artificial islands. The first phase of development will create 82ha of land out of 9 million cubic metres of sand, after which about 3,500km of drains will be installed to dry the soil.
Boskalis will also create a 3ha nature area consisting of reeds and a mussel bed.
Construction is due to begin on the third quarter of 2018 should be completed in mid-2020.
The contract involves the possibility of a future project to develop a further 53ha of land.
Image: Amsterdam (Wikimedia Commons/Massimo Catarinella)
Story for GCR? Get in touch via email: [email protected]
