Heijmans today announces that the dyke reinforcement between Gorinchem and Waardenburg has been given the green light, after the Graaf Reinald alliance was granted a € 350 million subsidy. Heijmans has been a part of the Rivierenland water board alliance since 2017. In the intervening period, the alliance has worked on the planning study and the plan execution phase of the project. Work on the dyke reinforcement is scheduled to start in June 2021.
Heijmans’ share in the revenue from this contract is approximately € 80 million. The type of contract chosen includes a joint risk domain with the client, which acts as an incentive for the intended form of the cooperation.
High water protection programme
The Graaf Reinald alliance is a collaborative initiative of the Rivierenland water board, Heijmans, GMB and Vries & van de Wiel. Royal HaskoningDHV will play an advisory role in the alliance, which will execute the dyke reinforcement over the next five years. The subsidy comes from the Ministry of Public Works and Waterways’ (Rijkswaterstaat) High Water Protection Programme. This is a very large and complex operation aimed at reinforcing a 23-kilometre stretch of the dyke.
One of the top-10 urgent projects
The dyke reinforcement between Gorinchem and Waardenburg will be the first project to be executed on the northern side of the River Waal since the introduction of the new safety standard. It involves a 23-kilometre stretch of dyke, from the Dalemsewal in Gorinchem (Zuid-Holland province) to the junction with the A2 motorway at Waardenburg (Gelderland province). The project is number seven in the top-10 list of most urgent projects in the High Water Protection Programme. The work will be carried out in phases: per section of dyke or cluster of dyke sections to keep the dyke as accessible as possible during the work. The aim is to make the dyke high water safe by 2026.
Yolande van der Meulen, chair of the Alliance executive
“The granting of the subsidy marks the start of the next phase of this project. This is a great example of close collaboration in an alliance of three market players, an engineering firm and the Rivierenland water board. This has enabled us to combine and call on a huge amount of know-how and experience right from the start of the exploratory phase, aimed at ensuring the swift execution of the project. The result is a dyke reinforcement plan that serves various interests. I am very proud that we have reached this milestone in close cooperation with all the parties involved and I hope to raise a glass to a high water-safe dyke in 2026.”
About the High Water Protection Programme
In this programme, various district water boards and the Ministry of Public Works and Waterways have joined forces to work on the largest dyke reinforcement operation since the Delta Works. The plan is reinforce 1,300 kilometres of dyke in the period to 2050. The Rivierenland water board is responsible for the reinforcement of some 400 kilometres of dyke in the rivers region.
Contact us
