Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has received a Letter of Award from the Housing & Development Board of Singapore for the development of a polder at the northwestern tip of Pulau Tekong. The contract value for the joint venture with Penta Ocean Construction Company is approximately EUR 800 million of which Boskalis' share is approximately EUR 400 million.
Boskalis and its partner will be responsible for building the required dike closures and reinforcement of the existing dike to create a 10 kilometers long dike, the drainage of the reclamation area and extensive dry earthmoving activities to create Singapore's first polder. In contrast to reclaiming land by filling a reclamation area up to and above sea level, the land for the polder is reclaimed by draining off the water by means of pumps and canals. For this project Boskalis is able to draw on its expert knowledge and experience with dike closures and the construction and reinforcement of sea dikes in the Netherlands gained over the past 100 years.
Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis: "The award of this sizable project marks a historic moment. Our company has a rich heritage of building dikes and developing polders in the Netherlands, and the creation of this first polder in Southeast Asia is an important new milestone. Over the past decades Boskalis has been active in Singapore reclaiming land enabling the country to grow. The use of polders however creates new opportunities to expand. Through this project we look forward to pushing back boundaries and demonstrating our global leadership position as dredging and marine experts."
The high quality of the proposal by Boskalis and its partner played a decisive role in the contract award; solely on price the proposal came in fourth.
Construction works will commence in the coming months. The construction activities will take place over a 4 year time frame and are expected to be completed in 2022.
Source: Boskalis