Rhine washland maintenance project awarded to Dutch consortium

The Netherlands’ Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) has selected a consortium formed by local companies to perform maintenance on the washlands on some branches of the Rhine River.

The contract will be executed by the consortium consisting of Van Oord, Rebel, Witteveen+Bos, and Prop Beplantingswerken, with digital partners Google Cloud Solutions, Ciphix and HAL24K Infra.

Van Oord said the washlands serve an important function in water management in the Netherlands. Specifically, enlargement of the washlands will enable the country’s rivers to drain more water, creating space for new habitats and reinforcing the region’s ability to protect communities from flooding.

The contract covers management and maintenance over a period of four years. Van Oord said that if the parties are satisfied, the scope will be extended to 10 years.