Bam bags €753 million lock contract

Dutch-based contractor Bam is to take part in a €753 million project to construct a new lock at Terneuzen, in the Netherlands.

The contract was awarded by the Flemish-Dutch Scheldt Commission, which is responsible for managing the Scheldt estuary running through France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and is being subsidised by the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility.

Bam Infra and Bam Contractors – Dutch and Belgian subsidiaries of the Bam group – will be working in partnership with DEME Infra Marine Contractors and Dredging International – both part of the DEME group – and the Belgian contractor Algemene Aannemingen Van Laere.

The Terneuzen lock complex connects the Western Scheldt with the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, which is part of the Rotterdam-Paris inland waterway route and was said to be one of the busiest navigated canals in Europe.

At a length of 427m, width of 55m and depth of 16m, the new lock will be built within the current lock complex that runs between the western and eastern locks. As a result, the current middle lock will be removed.

During the 60-month construction period, 300,000m³ of concrete will be poured, almost 30,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel will be installed, more than 9,000 tonnes of steel will be used for building the lock gates and bridges, and over 45,000 tonnes of steel will be used for piling and steel sheet walls.

Enabling works are scheduled to begin by the end of 2017, and it is planned that the new lock will be operational in 2022.

The construction will be followed by a 24-month maintenance period.