Building of Amsterdam’s New Sea Lock Set for 2016

The construction of the new sea lock in the Port of Amsterdam, the Netherlands is scheduled to begin in 2016.

The construction completion is set for 2019, when first ships should be able to transit the new lock.

At the moment, executive organization of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, Rijkswaterstaat, is at the start of the second dialogue phase of the procurement tender. The procurement procedure will be completed around summer 2015, Rijkswaterstaat Communication Officer Jonna Brandsma told World Maritime News.

Once the procurement process is completed, a more precise schedule on the construction will be available along with details on the contractor and the construction process itself.

The City Council of Amsterdam approved the acceleration of construction of the new large sea lock in IJmuiden, on November 26.

The initial plan by the national government was to replace the locks no later than 2029, however this date seemed to be too far away as the port may reach its maximum capacity of 95 million tons already in 2020.

The new lock system would allow the port to increase its capacity to 125 million tons.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be EUR 889 million, of which a considerable portion should be assigned by the EU.

 World Maritime News Staff