WODCON XX

The Art of Dredging

Technical Visits

3-7 June 2013, Square Meeting Centre, Brussels, Belgium

 

Interesting and informative technical field trips will be offered on the last congress day on Friday, 7 June. Delegates will have the opportunity to choose from several options including the Amoras dewatering plant for dredged material, a boat trip on the river Scheldt including a visit to major flood control works upstream of Antwerp.

Each tour departs from and returns to the Square.
Meeting Point for each of these tours is the Glass Entrance of the Square at 08:45 on Friday 7 June
Dresscode
: Casual with comfortable shoes

Tour to Sigma Plan

Friday 7 June, 9:00 - 15:00,  Participation Fee - 50€ + VAT

A limited number of 60 participants is allowed on the Sigma Tour.
To be able to see the detailed programme of this tour, please click here.
 
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During a disastrous storm tide in 1976, the Scheldt and its tributaries flooded large areas throughout all of Flanders. Especially Antwerp (Ruisbroek) and a number of areas in East-Flanders were seriously affected. The human and material damage was enormous, and the Belgian government decided that improved protection was required. This protection took the form of the Sigma Plan, which is similar to the Dutch Delta Works.  The Sigma Plan will contribute to a multifunctional and sustainably used Scheldt. Thus, a robust and powerful river will emerge, one able to fulfil its functions with dynamism, not only today, but also tomorrow and well into the future.

The Scheldt makes two capricious bends at Kruibeke, first north then eastward. At this strategically chosen location, the works on the flood control area Kruibeke-Basel-Rupelmonde (FCA KBR) are nearing their end. As the largest of the thirteen flood control areas in the Scheldt basin, it will be completed during 2013. We will sail to Kruibeke aboard the ship the "Blauwe Reiger". We will tour the area and visit the outlet and inlet sluices.

Once operational, the FCA KBR alone will provide for a fivefold increase in the protection of Flanders against floods from the river Scheldt and its tributaries. At the same time, FCA can be made a unique nature reserve and a place where hikers and bicyclists are more than welcome.

The flood control area in Kruibeke, the last project of the original Sigma Plan, is now being implemented. Part of the flood control area will be set up as a flood control area with reduced tides (CRT), another part as wetland. The project will provide a boost to the nature of the Scheldt region: no less than 300 hectares of mud flats and marshes, 150 hectares of meadow bird area and 92 hectares of alder marsh forests will be added. The area is also intended to serve as an example of sustainable tourism.

Our host and sponsor will be Waterwegen en Zeekanaal NV that since its establishment in 2004, has taken over the ownership of the project from the previous administration for waterways.

Please find the link here for to download the directions to Sigmaplan. The location of the visit is:
"Infokeet Kruibeke"

Tour to AMORAS

Friday 7 June, 9:00 - 15:00,  Participation Fee - 50€ + VAT

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Guaranteeing sufficient draught to shipping traffic is an essential condition for the Port of Antwerp to prosper now and in the future. In order to do so, the Antwerp Port Authorities need to dredge and store large volumes of dredged material on annual basis. However, the available disposal areas for dredged material are insufficient.

Therefore, a mechanical silt dewatering plant was built as a lasting and innovative solution for the treatment and storage of dredged material. This ambitious project has been given the name AMORAS. The project provides a permanent solution for recycling and storage of dredged sediments in the port of Antwerp.

This tour will be hosted and sponsored by the DEME Group (Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering) that has extensive and specialised experience with all distinctive aspects of the AMORAS project, such as the exploitation of various silt treatment centres, dredging and transport of dredged sediments, desanding,  mechanical dewatering and  storage of dredged material.  

Those joining this tour will undoubtedly impressed to see that in terms of sustainability the silt dewatering installation meets all contemporary ecological demands, pursuing maximum efficiency of used energy in every phase of the process applied. Also the plant has a reliable and user-friendly design as a result of far-reaching automation, in-depth control systems and optimal use of available capacity, allowing to guarantee a very long life cycle for the AMORAS project.

On each tour participants will be given detailed explanation and will have the opportunity to have face to face discussions with those experts who have been directly involved in these projects.

Please click here to download the road description to Amora site.
Contact person onsite is: Mr. Geert Vanwesenbeeck, phone number: +32 (0)470 18.05.69

Tour to Deurganckdock Lock

Friday 7 June, 9:00 - 15:00,  Participation Fee - 50€ + VAT

Port of Antwerp

The Port of Antwerp is set to build the world's biggest lock. The lock will link the existing Deurganck dock with the other docks on the left bank of the river Scheldt, which at present have only one nautical link with the rest of the port area.

The figures for the construction are impressive: the new dock will be built on the model of the existing Berendrecht dock, which is currently the largest in the world. It will be 500m long and 68m wide and 17.8m deep. The width will be equivalent to a 19-lane motorway.

deurganckdok.jpg (5.9 K)Construction is planned to take about four-and-a-half years, with the new dock becoming operational in 2016. A second lock will ensure more business security in the second most important port in Europe and allow it to defend its competitive position.

Participants of this tour will see the Doel Dike, construction of the Deurganckdock Lock, dredging works of the Deurganckdock and the access channels. The works at the Doel Dike entailed the construction of a 25.5 m high dike in sand, built on a silt layer with a thickness of 10 m. The silt layer was strengthened by the SSI-method (Soft Soil Improvement).

This tour will be hosted and sponsored by Jan De Nul.

Please click here to download the road descripiton to the Deurganckdock Lock.

Last update: 31 May 2013