The Flemish-Dutch Scheldt Commission has awarded Sassevaart the contract for constructing the New Terneuzen Lock. On 17 July 2017, the intention to award the contract was announced to all the parties concerned. No objections were lodged within the mandatory period. Sassevaart, the Dutch-Belgian joint venture, is made up of the construction companies BAM Contractors, BAM Infra Nederland and Van Laere, the dredging company Dredging International and DIMCO, specialist in water and civil engineering, both subsidiaries of DEME. The contract is valued at 753 million euros.
The joint venture will be responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of the New Lock for a period of two years. The New Lock will be constructed on the existing Terneuzen locks complex, between the West and East locks. The lock will be 427 metres long, 55 metres wide and 16 metres deep. The works are due to start at the end of 2017 and will take about five years to complete. The first ship is expected to sail through the New Lock in 2022.
The New Lock will provide better access to the ports of Ghent and Terneuzen, and a faster flow of shipping between the Netherlands, Belgium and France. The New Lock will also provide an economic impulse for Zeelandic Flanders (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen), and the Flemish region.
The partners at Sassevaart are definitely no novices when it comes to designing and detailing large-scale hydraulic engineering projects, such as locks complexes and quay walls.
Alain Bernard, Director and CEO DEME Group: ‘For DEME’s subsidiaries Dredging International and DIMCO, this challenging infrastructure project is once again an opportunity for jointly employing their expertise in our Benelux home market, optimally exploiting the synergies in our activities within the group. This is the second large infrastructure project in the Netherlands for DIMCO in 2017, after having won the contract for the RijnlandRoute as a partner in the Comol5 joint venture. During the project's execution, there will also be opportunities for DEME's subsidiary DEME Building Materials (DBM), which specialises in the delivery of marine aggregates for concrete production. With strong partners in the joint venture, we aim for a successful execution of the ambitious New Lock project.’
Source: DEME