Creating natural habitats from dredged material

The progress made by DEME and Van Oord joint venture in Poland can easily be seen from space.

At the Świnoujście-Szczecin fairway dredging project, two circular islands, which will serve as natural habitats, are gradually rising out of the water.

The outline of the northern island is nearing completion and construction of the southern island is underway, and is just starting to emerge, reported DEME.

With an emphasis on sustainability, the two islands are being made from dredged material from the fairway deepening.

Shore protection works on the islands, as well as the creation of marine and land habitats, will also start in the next few months.

Providing access from the Baltic Sea, the fairway starts at the city of Świnoujście and continues up to the Port of Szczecin, which is 66km further inland.

The fairway has a depth of -10.5m and is being deepened to -12.5m, enabling the port to handle much larger vessels.