Rotterdam’s new harbour, Maasvlakte 2, is now protected against the severest of storms and wave attacks. On Monday 30 January, Rotterdam municipal executive councillor Jeannette Baljeu (Port, Transport and Regional Economy) laid the last block in the dam forming the hard sea wall of Maasvlakte 2.
The dam is made up of 19,558 concrete blocks, each weighing in at over 40,000 kg. The blocks have come from the sea wall of the existing Maasvlakte. In order to move them, PUMA, the consortium of which Van Oord is a member, ordered a special crane to be developed: the Blockbuster. Since April 2011, the Blockbuster has been working day and night to place the concrete cubes (2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 m) in the dam to an accuracy of 15 cm. The Blockbuster will still be working on the hard sea wall for a month after today, laying the heavy armour stone.
PUMA expects to hand over the complete hard sea wall to Rotterdam Port Authority this spring, so the construction work on Maasvlakte 2 is still strictly on schedule.
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Dredging Today Staff, February 2, 2012; Image: maasvlakte2