Dutch infrastructure ministry Rijkswaterstaat has contracted in April 2018 with Levvel BV for its EUR 550m Afsluitdijk causeway project. Subsequently, Levvel reached financial close in May 2018.

The project involves raising the Afsluitdijk causeway on its north side – bordered by the Wadden Sea – with concrete blocks. Two large pumping stations are also to be built at Den Oever, a village on the causeway’s western edge. This will drain off water from the Ijsselmeer – a bay to the south of the causeway – to the Wadden Sea. Passages will also be built to enable fish to travel from the sea to Ijsselmeer.

In addition to designing, building and financing the reinforcement, the scheme also involves operating and maintaining the Afsluitdijk for 25 years.

Levvel comprises BAM PPP PGGM, Van Oord (with Aberdeen Standard Investments and APG and EPICo).