Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Impasse and additional market investigation
The idea to have to make reuse possible was not very attractive to the ini-
tiators (client and contractor): the argument was, that the spreading of the
boring spoil would have a minimal impact on the environment, whereas the
reuse of the soil would have no purpose. The official authorities who were
eventually responsible for the granting of the necessary permits however,
thought that the initiators disregarded the benefits of reuse and were not
prepared to invest in environmental measures. In order to eventually take a
decision about reusing the cuttings or not - being necessary to then be able to
apply for the actual permits in order to spread the non-reusable boring spoil -
an additional market investigation was carried out into reuse. Anyway, this
investigation was entirely in line with the raw-materials policy by the Ministry
of Public Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment: the moment soil
becomes available, it first has to be established whether reuse is possible.
A market of potentials present, prices uncertain
The study geared its attention towards: the necessary investments to
make the separation plant suitable for dealing with reuse; on the construc-
tion and location of a temporary storage area (TOP) for the soil which will
possibly be reused; on the necessity for pre-treatments; on the consistency
of the clay; and particularly on the market potential and the market prices.
The investigation was concluded in August 1998.The results clearly showed
that the potential for reuse was present, but also that the market prices were
extremely uncertain.
Particularly due to the pressure by the Environmental Hygiene Inspectorate
to deal with reuse on the basis of the prevailing raw-materials policy of the
Netherlands, it was clear that major risks would come about in the permit-
granting if the possibilities for dealing with reuse was not created.That would
mean that the entire project would be delayed and the client could expect
compensation claims from the contractor.
Decision for reuse leads to adaptations of the separation plant
The company NV Westerscheldetunnel was not happy with its role as a new-
comer in the traditionally closed raw-materials sector. Besides, the role called
for extra investments in the extension of the separation plant.This extension
concerned:
- the construction of extra conveyor belts and the altering of the driving
mechanism of the already installed conveyor belts in the separation
plant;
- the construction of an interim storage area on the site in Terneuzen and a
system of conveyor belts from the separation plant to such storage area;
- the choice of location, land acquisition, permission granting and construc-
tion of a temporary storage area (TOP) in the vicinity of the site;
- the broadening of the roads from the site to the temporary storage area
in connection with the increased road transportation.
Approaching the market
In order to be able to supply the boring spoil to the market, potential buyers
of recycled sand and clay had to be approached. In order to be able to do so,
Search WWH ::
Custom Search