Enlargement of Twente canals wraps up

The Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Mark Harbers, yesterday attended an event celebrating the completion of the enlargement of the Twente Canals – a great recognition for the work of consortium Van Oord – Hakkers – Beens, who worked on the final phase of the enlargement of the Twente canals in recent years.

The Twente canals are an important logistical connection for the transportation of goods by water.

“By enlarging the waterway, the ports of Almelo, Hengelo and Enschede are more accessible and larger vessel can sail through more safely and smoothly. This boosts regional economy and makes water transport even more attractive,” said Van Oord.

The Van Oord – Hakkers – Beens consortium was commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat, the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The consortium was responsible for enlarging the canal, replacing the sheet piling over a length of 35 kilometres and applying a self-sealing layer at the bottom of the canal.

Also, the consortium created 13 kilometres of nature-friendly river banks.

During project execution, the Twente canal remained accessible and in use at all times. At the same time, up to 80 pieces of floating equipment worked on the canal.

“The project paid a lot of attention to sustainability. Part of the sheet pile walls and the dredged material were reused on projects in the area,” said Van Oord.