World Builders on water
Look at it from an economic point of view, for instance. The maritime industry is the primary mode of transportation for goods, generating mass employment in ports and related industries. Or what about the positive economic effects of coastal tourism, which accounts for at least 50% of global tourism? Water largely determines where we live, what we consume, and how we make a living. To ensure that future generations can also enjoy the benefits, we pursue 3 ambitions.
Future-proof ports
Many seaports are no longer equipped to welcome the ever-larger vessels sailing our oceans and seas. Or economic activity has changed in such a way that expansions are due. This is where we come in. We modernise existing ports or build new ones from scratch to generate employment, attract business investments, and foster global trade.
Brand new port in Morocco
Due to the congestion of the port in Tangier, the Moroccan government decided to develop a second port in the economically developing Tangier-Tetouan region. Nador West-Med is anew deep-water port with an integrated industrial port platform and free-trade zone that we built.
Strong coastlines
40% of the world population lives near the coast, but these zones are vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and degradation of the delicate ecosystem. That’s why we replenish coastlines across the globe with sand, install protective structures to break waves, and make active use of the ecological function of shores to enrich the fauna and flora.
Underwater breakwater in Benin
Every year, the rising Atlantic Ocean eats away several metres of the Benin coastline. To protect it, we installed a 5 km long underwater breakwater. It also serves as a coral reef to combat erosion, create a safer swimming area, and stimulate marine wildlife
Safe waterways
Continuous sedimentation and the increasing size of ships forces authorities to keep a constant eye on its rivers and port access channels. We maintain, deepen or widen waterways, relying on an industry-leading fleet of trailing suction hopper dredgers, cutter suction dredgers, split hopper barges and backhoe dredgers. If the dredged soil is contaminated, we can clean up the sediments ourselves.
Port access revival in Ecuador
In Ecuador, the shallow draught of the access channel prevented ships from reaching the important port of Guayaquil. We executed the dredging works for a new harbour accessible to deeper ships, about 85 km south-west of Guayaquil.
We boost biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity is an important aspect of our activities on water. Net gain is what we aim for, no net loss of biodiversity and ecosystems is the minimum. In Ecuador, for instance, we use locally dredged material to build mangrove islands which generate many ecological benefits.
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