Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 28 October 2020 – Rijkswaterstaat, the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, has awarded the final phase of the enlargement of the Twente canals to a consortium of Van Oord – Hakkers – Beens. The contract was signed this morning. The work will start in the spring of 2021 and will last until the end of December 2022.

By enlarging the waterway, the ports of Almelo, Hengelo and Enschede will be more easily accessible and larger vessels will be able to sail through more safely and smoothly. This will boost the regional economy and make water transport even more attractive.
The Van Oord – Hakkers – Beens consortium will be responsible for enlarging the canal, replacing the current sheet piling over a length of 35 kilometres and applying a self-sealing layer at the bottom of the canal. The consortium will also create 13 kilometres of nature-friendly banks.

We look forward to working with the consortium on the second phase of the enlargement of the Twente canals. We are pleased to use our ingenuity to contribute to Rijkswaterstaat’s ambition to reduce road freight traffic.
Richard Brouwer, Director Netherlands at Van Oord

Tendering based on BPQR
In this tendering procedure, Rijkswaterstaat selected a tender based on a combination of price and quality, also known as the Best price-quality ratio (BPQR). The BPQR approach helps to make better use of the innovative power and creativity of the market. The assessment shows that the well thought-out planning of the Van Oord – Hakkers – Beens consortium has instilled confidence in Rijkswaterstaat’s implementation team.