A consortium consisting of Royal Boskalis Westminster (Boskalis), Van Oord, NMDC and Jan de Nul has acquired a contract from the Suez Canal Authorities in connection with the expansion of the Suez Canal.
The total contract value amounts to US$1.5 billion, with each partner entitled to an equal share of US$375 million.
Connecting Europe to Asia, the "new" Suez Canal will partially run in parallel to the current waterway, and partially widen and deepen parts of the pre-existing channel.
The contract includes the construction of the parallel section of the canal with a length of approximately 50 kilometres to allow ships to simultaneously transit in two directions, as well as the widening and deepening of a number of existing sections to a depth of 24 metres.
The majority of the dredging activities for the canal expansion will be executed with 17 cutter suction dredgers. The project will commence in 2014 for a 2015 completion date.
