sign in sign up
<<
Home , Deira Islands, Land reclamation

New in the Water: Economically and Socially, Pays 3

René kolman

NEW LAND IN THE WATER: ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY, LAND RECLAMATION PAYS

ABSTRACT areas must fulfil specific technical and are available throughout the interiors of many maritime requirements. When they do, land countries, the same rule that applied in the Port cities and other coastal areas are centres of reclamation can be prepared in a way that ancient times when people settled near seas, economic activity and act as motors for national preserves the maritime environment while and rivers, applies now: Coastal areas prosperity. They are magnets for people from providing new living and working spaces. attract people. Today about half ’s surrounding, often rural, areas who seek jobs The article will demonstrate through a case lives within 100 km of water. and want to share in the prosperity. This is study that reclamation is a viable solution And this trend continues to grow. Eight of true both in the developed world and in for seawards expansion. Early contractor the largest ten cities are along a and economically emerging nations. The United involvement, stakeholder involvement, urbanisation is evident around the world. Nations foresee a up to environmental monitoring and the business The demand for additional land for housing, 9 billion people in 2050 of which the majority case itself will be addressed. industry and recreation along the is will live in coastal zones. Adding population becoming steadily more acute. If cities can’t growth to the trend of migration from rural This article was originally published as an grow outward, they grow upwards resulting to urban areas means port cities face an Internet contribution for the AIVP “13th World in more congestion in terms of industry, enormous challenge to accommodate Conference Cities and Ports” and can be and demand for services. everyone in terms of housing, employment, found at http://www.citiesandports2012.com education, recreation and transport. or http://www.aivp.org. It is published here While this trend might have at one time with permission in a slightly adapted version. seemed insurmountable, from the 1970s More people create more economic activity, onwards the industry has developed which attracts more people, which creates more new technologies for creating new land in the economic activity. For governing authorities INTRODUCTION water. As a result, “buying” new land by this self-perpetuating process is an enormous “making” it through reclamation is turning challenge. Often natural geographic limitations In 2005 the global population was 6 billion. out to be less expensive than developing old – such as , rivers or deserts – prevent The United Nations predicts that by 2050 it land. The old adage, “Buy land – they’re not expansion into the hinterland. How do we will grow to 9 billion. While vast areas of land making it any more” is no longer true. meet this challenge? How do we create space to accommodate growing ? Above: The IJburg land reclamation in , PIONEERS IN LAND RECLAMATION The will result in almost 20,000 new The first major land reclamations were done in Land reclamation – making new land in the residences built in IJmeer (a ). Urban areas and port the 1970s, when the Port of Rotterdam in the sea – can be the answer. To expand in the cities have always been a magnet for populations as they Netherlands was extended with suppletion direction of the sea, port cities and coastal provide work opportunities as as water for recreation. from the sea with the first Maasvlakte reclama- 4 Terra et Aqua | Number 128 | September 2012

Figure 1. The first Maasvlakte expansion in the 1970s (left) was followed by the 2nd Maasvlakte expansion programme which is presently being executed.

tion (Figure 1). This extension allowed the port 24 hours a day. Reclamation is the highly NEW TECHNOLOGY MAKES LAND to continue to develop and to accommodate populated island state has continued through RECLAMATION POSSIBLE more ships and it helped Europoort to add the 1980s, 1990s to the present. ’s Expansion into the sea is not just for airports. container terminals and become the largest in Chek Lap Kok airport is now legendary for the In the 1970s and ‘80s, land reclamation projects Europe at the time, providing jobs and skill and speed with which it was built – continued to increase. In , near Kawasaki stimulating the economy without infringing replacing the old airport that had passengers in Bay land was developed for industrial upon an already congested city. holding their breaths as they cruised in to land estates where for the first time sand was between skyscrapers (Figure 2). extracted from the seabed from depths that This was the start of the modern era of land exceeded 80 metres. This was made possible by reclamation which rapidly spread around the But elsewhere airports were also being built a deep-suction dredging technique that opened world. In 1975 the government of on reclaimed land – in and Sydney, up possibilities for large-scale reclamation. decided to build a new airport on the eastern Australia (Figure 3), and Kansai airport near Jurong and Tuas along the coast of Singapore, tip of Singapore. The now famous Changi , Japan (Figure 2). This trend has Keelung and Yun Lin in Taiwan, and big parts airport was built with over 40 million cubic continued in the 21st century with projects of Hong Kong like Penny’s Bay have benefitted metres of sand reclaimed from the seabed, such as the New International Airport in from the large-scale applications of the using 7 cutter suction dredgers working (Figure 3). centrifugal pump and the ever-increasing size

Figure 2. Far eastern airports in the sea include from left to right: Singapore’s Changi (where vertical drains were used to expedite consolidation), Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok (where a natural was preserved and integrated into the land reclamation) and Japan’s Kansai airport (the 2nd phase expansion is shown here). New Land in the Water: Economically and Socially, Land Reclamation Pays 5

RENÉ KOLMAN is Secretary General of the International Association of Dredging Companies, the umbrella organisation for the world-wide private dredging industry. He studied at the Nautical School in Rotterdam and holds a degree in Economics from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Before coming to IADC, He was Deputy Credit: Jim Wilson Managing Director of the Dutch Contractors Association. As Secretary General, he takes a leading role in promoting the industry’s longstanding commitment to innovation and sustainability. Figure 3. Left, Sydney, Australia’s third runway being built on reclaimed land in the 1990s and right, the New Doha International Airport, Qatar in 2004.

of dredging ships, which takes advantage of nourishment has long been seen as a replenished each year and the coastlines of economies of scale. necessity for coastal protection, but nowadays , and have been it is also a form of extending living and restored after the tsunami. The coasts of the In the waters near Amsterdam, the Netherlands recreational possibilities. These improve the Netherlands and are also replenished new land was created called IJburg, which quality of life for millions of people. Australia’s annually and new projects such as the combined land reclamation and new techniques coastline and fine are an essential Flanders Bays and EcoShape / Building with to build land for residential areas that are part of the allure of Australia – for its own Nature programmes initiated in those now thriving (see opening photo). Even in population as well as millions of tourists each countries are researching more sustainable the , new land has been claimed year. systems of maintaining these beaches such as from the sea to build a new island called the ‘sand motor’ (figure 6). These land Hulhumale next to Male, the country’s capital Currumbin-Tugin Beach on the Gold Coast of reclamation projects are as much for coastal (Figure 4). What motivated these reclama- Australia was in dire straits before reclamation protection as for providing more land for tions so far from each other was the same took place (Figure 5). The same can be said of overcrowded cities. challenge: crowded, overpopulated urban ’s Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts and areas and the availability of modern dredging many other coastal areas. The east and west Perhaps the most famous recent coastline technology. coasts of the are also and waterfront improvement projects for

Figure 4. In the Maldives, new land has been reclaimed Figure 6. Aerial photo (June 2011) of the sand motor, from the sea to build a new island called Hulhumale a pilot project along the Dutch coast which seeks to next to Male. This has relieved some of the Figure 5. The Gold Coast of Australia before and after find more sustainable means to combine beach overcrowding on Male itself. beach restoration. replenishment and coastal protection. 6 Terra et Aqua | Number 128 | September 2012

Figure 7. Doha, Qatar (right) and Bahrein (left) have all benefited from new dredging technologies that have made land reclamation more feasible and economical.

expansion purposes have taken place in the • Available construction Even when taking into account additional 21st century, centred in the Middle East, with • Availability of modern, hi-tech dredging costs for elements like protection, massive development projects. Amongst equipment (Figure 8) improvement and site preparation, the all- them, the near , UAE which • Production capacity of dredging equipment inclusive costs of most reclamation projects through land reclamation and construction, • Quality of the contractor have remained below € 500 per square has increased Dubai’s coastline with some • Early contractor involvement and partnering metre. Based on this, land reclamation for 150 kilometres. Off the coast of Doha land with the client residential and industrial purposes is on reclamation has added 400 ha of land, average less expensive than using existing land. 30 kilometres of coastline and will eventually After these factors are taken into house 30,000 residents. Development in consideration, the values of each PRINCIPLES FOR COASTAL since 2001 has also been extensive specific case must be considered. Although DEVELOPMENT and includes the 4.6-km Sheikh Khalifa bin after the global economic crisis in 2008, real A publication from the Urban Land Institute Salman , the Bahrain Financial estate values in some of the major cities of (2007) suggests ten principles for developing Harbour reclamations works, the Bahrain Bay the world declined, this has to be seen in the coastal . The report takes into project, Ritz Carlton II and the North Bahrain long term as a temporary setback. Both based account the vulnerabilities of coastal areas, as New Town project, as well as the North on demographics, the need to preserve nature well as their attractiveness and consequently Causeway. Although Bahrain, unlike and the effects of climate change and their intrinsic value. The aim of the publication Dubai, has an abundance of coastline, being consequent sea-level rise, the cost of land in is to draw attention to all aspects of the an archipelago of thirty-three islands with major cities will continue to increase (see coasts and to encourage coastal development 161 km of coast, its government as well was I). The need for urban space for in a sustainable fashion. Reasonable planning seeking ways to diversify its economic base residential and recreational facilities as well as – including dredging in a way that preserves (Figure 7). for expanded ports for sea-borne trade will natural and increases accessibility for put pressure on all coastal areas. all citizens – are priorities. Seeking solutions IS LAND RECLAMATION REALLY LESS EXPENSIVE THAN “OLD” LAND? As land reclamation techniques improved, so Table I. Seafront land prices per square metre (2006) did the number of projects. Successful land € reclamation is dependent on a number of Place Range of land prices in / m² in 2006 factors: 25,000 - 35,000 • Removal of unsuitable layers Hong Kong 19,500 - 31,400 • Sailing distance to disposal areas Singapore 4,600 - 6,200 • Sailing distances to sand borrow areas Dubai 1,785 - 4,150 • Costs of dredging licences /permits Tokyo 1,250 (average) • Depth of the area to be filled Rotterdam 485 - 625 • Quality of fill material • Wave and wind climate Reclaimed land < 250 New Land in the Water: Economically and Socially, Land Reclamation Pays 7

that “Build with Nature” and take advantage of soft solutions instead of trying to stop or prevent erosion by hard solutions will increase the chances of success without disrupting the environment and the ecological balance. Be it up and down the European coasts, or the east and west coasts of the United States or the long shorelines of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, or Australia and Japan, land Figure 8. Modern reclamation is used for expansion as well as hi-tech dredging for preventing coastal erosion and has become equipment makes it an important instrument for the conservation, possible to achieve expansion and management of valuable land reclamation at resources offered by living along a coast. a competitive price. Seen here, a trailer TWO CASE STUDIES rainbowing with a Dubai’s diversified economy based on double nozzle. land reclamation Dubai’s economy has traditionally been based on its oil reserves and the industry involved in added 78 kilometres to the existing coastline, themselves, needless to say, also enjoy the retrieving it. A few years ago, the Government which more than doubled the length of Dubai’s pleasures of their beaches. For these reasons realised that these oil reserves no matter how coastline. This was the first land reclamation the Department of Environmental rich cannot go on forever and they will not be project which used 110 million m³ of sand. Protection, Bureau of Beaches and adequate to ensure a high standard of living It was soon followed by similar and even Resources commissioned a study for the indefinitely. The rulers decided that it would larger projects, like the ‘Palm ’, ‘The Economic Benefits Analysis/Florida Beach be good policy to diversify and find other World’, which used 325 million m³ of sand, Restoration. The information here is adapted sources of revenue such as tourism. ‘’, ‘Palm Deira’ and ‘the Dubai from this report, prepared by Catanese Center Waterfront’. The economic impact of these for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Dubai’s warm climate is inviting as a vacation projects on Dubai has been quite remarkable Florida Atlantic University. destination, but with a coastline of only 70 and has clearly given Dubai a central role in kilometres the opportunities for recreational the tourist industry. To understand the importance of Florida’s attractions were few. And then thoughts beaches, in 1995 nearly 80% of Florida’s turned to land reclamation. The possibility of The importance of Florida’s beaches residents live in coastal counties and over artificially expanding the coastline and to tourism 60% of Florida’s population lived within five creating more interesting residential and Florida has always been an important tourist miles of the coast. Over $25 billion, or recreational water-related activities was seen destination for Americans and it has one of approximately 25% of the value of Florida’s as a viable alternative thanks to the innovative the longest coastlines in the US with more coastal real estate, could be attributed to technologies of the modern dredging industry. than 800 miles of sandy beaches along the beaches. Beaches in Florida are clearly an The results: ‘’, completed in 2005, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Floridians important economic engine, but erosion is a

Figure 9. Land reclamation in Dubai was extensive, doubling its coastline and improving its attractiveness as a tourist destination. 8 Terra et Aqua | Number 128 | September 2012

annually of which more than half comes from Maintaining Florida’s lengthy shoreline is foreign tourists (Houston, 2002). no easy task, but in terms of recreation for its residents and for both US and foreign The same is true for the entire State of Florida. tourists, the investment has proven well Data from 2001 shows 62.3 million out-of-state worth it. In addition, from an environmental visitors to Florida, with an additional 8.0 million perspective, the beaches provide marine international visitors. Of the 62.3 million habitat for many species, including domestic visitors, a total of 22.4 million endangered and threatened species, as well indicated that going to the beach was a as storm protection for public primary activity during their stay in Florida. and private upland development. Figure 10. Sand restoration along Florida’s East Coast is conducted annually but has proven its economic value.

CONCLUSIONS realistic question that has no simple answer. serious issue and over 80% of erosion on To look at the international dredging Florida’s east coast is attributable to impacts Globally speaking, land reclamation has contractors’ level of activity is to realise that of navigation inlets. Mitigating these impacts provided an important solution to increasing their portfolios are quite full and that long- is essential to the economic health of the State land areas for a variety of purposes. From a term planning is necessary. (Figure 10). commercial perspective reclamations have been used for new airports and airport expansions On the other hand, these companies According to the Catanese analysis, the as well as new ports and their expansions. continue to invest in in-house R&D, as well economic impact of Florida’s beach visitors in Residential and recreational developments as extensive co-operation with universities 2000 included 442,000 jobs and over $700 along waterfronts have been successfully and knowledge institutes to maintain the million in sales tax directly paid by Florida constructed through land reclamation. And economic advantage of offering land beach tourists. According to the study, of the environmentally, the restoration of coastlines reclamation at a reasonable price. The 71 million annual tourists who visit Florida, also provides coastal protection for the purchase of innovative dredging plant, larger over 23 million reported going to Florida growing populations as well as for natural vessels and hi-tech systems also allows them beaches as a primary vacation activity during habitats of various habitats and species. to keep their cubic-metre price sharp. But their stay. In summary, the total direct and the demand for new land is high and indirect spending by Florida’s beach visitors in But can this land reclamation continue at the involving a dredging contractor early on in 2000 was estimated at $41.6 billion, and over same pace as it has in the last 20 years? plans (“early contractor $8 billion in payroll resulted from additional Does the international dredging industry involvement”) is certainly the most spending related to the state’s beaches. have sufficient capacity to cope with the economical way of ensuring the best cost present demand for the realisation of price and finding the most feasible solution Using Miami Beach as an example of value for maritime infrastructure projects? This is a to match the needs assessment of the client. money of beach restoration, for every $1.00 spent on restoration, $700 in foreign revenue is returned. Over a long period the beaches at Miami Beach had eroded considerably, losing REFERENCES Houston (1996a). The Economic Value of Beaches. their appeal as a tourist destination. Along the Economics of Florida’s Beaches: The Impact of Beach Pawlukiewicz, Michael, Gupta, Prema Katari and East Coast of the US, the Caribbean islands Restoration (2003). Prepared for: Florida Department Koelbel, Carl (2007). Ten Principles for Coastal provide significant competition for the tourist of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Beaches and Development. Washington, D.C.: ULI–the Urban trade. To revitalise the tourist trade as an Wetland Resources DEP Contract No. BS014, Final Land Institute. economic force, Miami had to do something. Project Report for Economic Benefits Analysis/Florida Beach Restoration. Prepared by: Catanese Center for Schaart, Jan (2008). Mega Reclamations was undertaken in the Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic Opportunities and Challenges. Dredging & 1970s and the investment paid off. Miami University. Marine Contractors, CEDA Conference on Dredging and Reclamation, 6th-7th May. Doha Exhibition Centre, attracted 21 million tourists in 1983 compared A Literature Review On The Economics Of Beaches Doha, Qatar. to 8 million in 1978 (Literature Review, 2003). Prepared For The Bureau Of Beaches And Wetland Project costs were $64 million in 1980 covering Resources Of The Florida Department Of Terra et Aqua, Number 100, September 2005. 16 km and had a huge impact on the declining Environmental Protection. (June 4, 2003). Submitted by The Anthony James Catanese Center Urban Land Institute.(visited May 2012). tourism industry: 8 million tourists visited a year for Urban & Environmental Solutions at Florida http://www.uli.org/ResearchAndPublications/Reports/ before the beach nourishment and 21 million Atlantic University. visited a year after the beaches were improved. Waterman, Ronald E. (2007). “Land In Water, Groothuizen, A.G.M. (2008). “World Development Water In Land, Achieving Integrated Coastal Zone Although this nourishment costs $2 million per and the Importance of Dredging.” PIANC Magazine, Development By Building With Nature”. Terra et year, the tourists in Miami spend $4.4 billion no. 130, January. Aqua, Nr 107, June.