Jan De Nul to enhance Prins Hendrik dike

The three-kilometre-long Prins Hendrik dike at Texel in the Netherlands will be strengthened with sand, adding about 200 hectares to the island.

As part of the reinforcement, Jan De Nul will build a nature reserve featuring dunes, a salt marsh and beach in front of the dike to future-proof the dam and bolster Wadden Sea’s natural environment.

The contract was awarded by Hollands Noorderkwartier district water control board as part of a sizable dike reinforcement operation in the Netherlands.

More than 1,100 kilometres of dikes and almost 500 locks and pumping stations will be handled up to 2028.

The trailing suction hopper dredger Bartolomeu Dias will add the sand in the second half of 2018.

After that, Jan De Nul will start designing the nature reserve. Completion of the work is scheduled for mid-2019.