Rijkswaterstaat has commissioned DHV and Iv-Infra to develop three options for a new, larger shipping lock at IJmuiden. The main objective of the study is to improve the accessibility of the harbors along the North Sea Canal.
The planning study consists of two phases. The first will establish the required dimensions of the new lock, its preferred location, the most effective design, and whether all environmental requirements can be met. The findings will be incorporated into a 'proof of concept' setting out the technical feasibility of the new shipping lock, together with a preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment and a social cost-benefit analysis.
The first phase of the planning study is due to be completed at the end of this year. The study has been awarded a grant of 1.75 million euro under the European Union's TEN-T program.
Based on the preliminary designs for three types of lock gate design, the stakeholders – the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the City of Amsterdam and the Province of Noord-Holland – will select the preferred option. Phase 2 will involve the detail design for the preferred option, together with a full Environmental Impact Assessment. Contracting for the construction of the lock will start simultaneously. At the end of the second phase, the final decision on the realization of the lock will be made and the necessary legislation passed to allow construction to start.
Capacity
The IJmuiden locks complex consists of four separate gates. Over eighty per cent of cargo destined for the Port of Amsterdam enters the North Sea Canal through the largest of these gates, the Noordersluis. It was built in 1929 and will be due for replacement within the next 15 to 20 years, having reached the end of its technical working life. The new gate must increase throughflow capacity in line with the expected growth in waterborne transport. It will therefore meet market demand, while also making a major contribution to the overall development of the North Sea Canal region and its hinterland.
Project partners
The project involves close cooperation between the Province of Noord-Holland, the Port of Amsterdam, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, and Rijkswaterstaat. This cooperation is based on a covenant signed in late 2009, under which the ministry, the city of Amsterdam and the provincial authority agreed to proceed with the construction of a new, larger sea gate.