Land reclamation

The overall growth in global population and migration towards coastal areas has created a huge demand for land reclamation. The dredging process removes sand, clay or rock from the seabed and these materials can then be used to create new land elsewhere. Cutter suction dredgers and trailing suction hopper dredgers are typically used for land reclamation projects, which can vary from the extension of a port or harbour, to the creation of offshore islands.

Creating new land has been a specialty of The Netherlands for centuries. The knowledge accumulated by the Dutch nation has been put to good use for many different purposes all over the world. With more people and industry migrating to coastal areas, the pressure has gradually increased to the extent that land reclamation is perceived as a cost-effective answer to this ever-increasing challenge.

Over the past decade, large reclamation projects have helped to expand such ports as Tanggu Port in China and Europort in The Netherlands. However, the most significant undertaking – and perhaps the best example of what can be achieved – is the famous Palm Islands artificial archipelago in Dubai.

Large volumes of sand have to be transported to complete such vast projects. The efficiency and reliability of IHC Merwede dredging vessels and equipment contribute to the most cost-efficient dredging solutions, or more specifically, the lowest cost per cubic metre.

This has resulted in the design of jumbo and mega hoppers, such as the CONGO RIVER and VOX MÁXIMA. Furthermore, the creation of large cutter suction dredgers and the launch of the popular IHC 8527MP® and IHC 7025MP® series in China have resulted in an enormous increase in efficiency. In addition, the IHC Beagle 4 and 8 will be perfectly suited to this type of work due to their reduced draught.