Van Oord and KWS Complete Hansweert Dyke Reinforcement a Full Year Early, Cutting 1,350 Tonnes of CO₂

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Van Oord and KWS, a VolkerWessels company, have handed over a 5.2 kilometre dyke reinforcement along the Western Scheldt in the Dutch province of Zeeland one year ahead of schedule, marking one of the first sustainable flood defence projects in the Netherlands.

The project, commissioned by the Scheldestromen water board, upgraded the sea dyke between the Hansweert lock complex and the Kapellebank tidal flat to meet the latest Dutch safety standard, which now accounts for more severe storm scenarios. On site CO₂ emissions were reduced by approximately 1,350 tonnes through a combination of electric and hybrid machinery, waterborne transport, and systematic soil reuse.

The scope of works included raising the dyke crest by up to 3 metres in certain sections and widening the bank by roughly 15 metres. Because the structure sits between the Western Scheldt estuary and the village centre of Hansweert, contractors had to devise a tailor made approach to fit within a narrow corridor. Additional constraints arose from the dyke’s location inside a Natura 2000 protected area, requiring strict environmental management throughout.

Construction began in late 2022. The Answest consortium, formed by Van Oord and KWS in December 2019, prepared and executed the works in cooperation with the water board and consulting engineers Witteveen+Bos.

The project team deployed electric cranes and an electric excavator on site, supplemented by hybrid equipment, to drive down carbon output. Materials were shipped by water wherever logistics allowed, reducing truck movements through the village. A soil quality map developed jointly with the water board enabled excavated material to be reused within the project boundaries rather than hauled off site.

Richard Brouwer, Infra Operations Director at Van Oord, said the project demonstrates that dyke reinforcement, sustainability and a tight schedule can go hand in hand. He added that by partnering with the client from the outset to choose an innovative, low emission approach, the team contributed to flood protection in Zeeland while taking valuable steps towards more sustainable infrastructure.

Jan Pols, Director of Hydraulic Engineering at KWS, said the result shows what can be achieved when parties truly collaborate from day one, delivering a future-proof and largely emission-free dyke under challenging circumstances.

Gert van Kralingen, Executive Director of the Scheldestromen water board, said the reinforcement ensures that the people behind the dyke will be able to live and work safely in the years ahead, noting that the project was delivered on time and on budget in cooperation with the local community and project partners.

The completion of the Hansweert dyke reinforcement is an important milestone in the broader programme to protect Zeeland against rising sea levels by 2050. The province faces increasing flood risk as climate projections call for higher storm surges along the North Sea and its estuaries. With the reinforced dyke now meeting the most recent national safety standard, the Scheldestromen water board can turn its attention to the next sections of coastline requiring intervention.

For the wider Dutch dyke reinforcement pipeline, Hansweert offers a replicable blueprint: early contractor involvement, electric site equipment, waterborne logistics, and soil circularity combined to shave a full year off the programme while cutting more than a thousand tonnes of carbon. As water boards across the Netherlands prepare hundreds of kilometres of flood defences for upgrade, the commercial and environmental case for low emission construction methods is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.