The European Dredging Association EuDA celebrated its 20th anniversary. Mr Siim Kallas, Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport & Mobility, opened the Anniversary conference with a keynote address highlighting the importance of the waterborne infrastructures for Transport Policy and the European economy as a whole.
He also insisted on the key role the European Dredgers play in expanding and maintaining these infrastructures.
Eminent speakers then presented the innovative realisations of the European Dredgers around the world: the Port expansion of Rotterdam (Maasvlakte 2), the Panama Canal Expansion Programme, the expansion of the Port of Melbourne and the construction of energy islands 120 km from the shore of Abu Dhabi and energy islands linked with a causeway near the shore of Saudi Arabia.
With more than 100 high level participants from the European Institutions, the EU Member States administrations and representatives from the industry the conference concluded on: European Dredgers innovate worldwide together with their clients.
For the past 20 years, European Dredgers have built up momentum and increased their strength and resilience as individual companies but also as a united and reputable sector organisation.
Dredging, a vector of globalisation
In the past 20 years, the European dredging companies have developed into well respected world leaders in a diversified industry segment of high strategic and economic importance.
Their knowledge and capacity has allowed them to tackle innovatively many of the world’s new challenges, including the modernisation of ports and their adaptation to the new reality of seaborne trade, the protection and adaptation of coasts to climate change, the procurement of diverse services to the offshore infrastructures. Some of the most impressive projects have been the feat of the European Dredgers.
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Press Release, November 25, 2013