Boskalis Sustainability Report 2020

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MANAGING IMPACT IN THE MALDIVES

MANAGING OUR IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 – BOSKALIS The Maldives, with its blue lagoons and coral reefs that are home to valued marine ecosystems and provide income for local communities, are an environmentally sensitive area. Our dredging and reclamation project on Gulhifalhu, to lay the foundations for a new port, is a prime example of how we effectively manage environmental and social impact.

In 2019 Boskalis was awarded a contract by the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in the Republic of Maldives for a land reclamation project. “Safe land and enough space for new development is a big concern in the Maldives,” says Peter Piek, project manager. “There are about 3,000 tiny islands in the Maldives, and much of the land is under potential threat from flooding.” It was Piek’s first time working in the Maldives, and his picture of blue skies, white sandy beaches and a calm sea was often different from the reality. “We experienced a lot of rough weather, which made our work more difficult than we had hoped for.” Nonetheless, the dredging and reclamation work came to a successful completion in August 2020. Revetment work should be finished by the second quarter of 2021. MITIGATION MEASURES The climate change adaptation project included the creation of a climate resilient island and the construction of a new port in Gulhifalhu, around four kilometers west of the capital Malé; it involved the dredging and placement of over six million cubic meters of sand in the eastern part of Gulhifalhu lagoon, as well as the construction

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