Dutch Infrastructure Minister to attend New Suez Canal Opening Ceremony

Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegen is heading a diverse, senior Dutch delegation to attend the inauguration of the New Suez Canal. The Netherlands is a proud contributor to the project with two Dutch dredging companies, Boskalis and Van Oord, working on site.

The Dutch delegation encompasses senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment. Ambassador of the Netherlands to Egypt Gerard Steeghs will also participate in the event.

Boskalis (as project leader) and Van Oord were part of a consortium that included NMDC (Abu Dhabi) and Jan de Nul (Belgium). The consortium was tasked with dredging a 35 km long New Suez Canal that runs parallel to the existing canal; dredging a record breaking 200 million m3 of sand, clay and rock in less than 9 months. In addition two Service Channels and two Cross Channels were dredged, which connect the existing and the New Suez Canal.