Levee Reinforcement Using the Implant™ Method Launched as Part of the Netherlands’ Large-Scale Water Management Project, the Delta Programme

The KIJK project, Europe’s first project to reinforce existing river levees with a combined wall formed using tubular piles and Z sheet piles using the Implant™ Method, is now fully under way in the province of South Holland in the central Netherlands. Under the ongoing technical support of Giken Europe B.V., a group company of GIKEN LTD., local contractors Volker Staal end Funderingen (VSF) and Gebr. De Koning B.V. are making steady progress on this five-year construction project. 

Giken Europe B.V. has sold two units of the SILENT PILER™ pile press-in and extraction machine for this project and will continue to provide rental of the GYRO PILER™ tubular pile rotary cutting press-in machine, sale of ripping bits (ring bits) attached to the pile toes of tubular piles, and machinery maintenance throughout the long-term construction period.　 

The combined walls adopted for this project pair high-rigidity tubular piles with highly watertight Z sheet piles, enabling functional and economical flood risk reduction. The space-saving GRB System™ also allows construction to proceed safely while maintaining road traffic on the levee. Government officials who visited the site praised the project as an innovative and important initiative that helps ensure the safety of the local community.

This project is part of the Delta Programme, * a large-scale water management project that the Dutch government considers an urgent priority, and it is attracting attention both domestically and across Europe. GIKEN aims to extend this five-year project across Europe as a new solution for addressing the challenges posed by climate change and to build a safer, more sustainable society. 

* Please see this past press release for more details (https://www.giken.com/en/news-cat/release/10_jul_2025/ ) 

Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and the province of South Holland, located inland, is no exception. The Hollandsche IJssel, where this project is taking place, is considered the last point of entry for floodwaters to reach inland areas in the event of a major flood. Residential areas line the section where the project is under way, and more than 200,000 lives and livelihoods need to be protected from flood damage.

Over a period of five years, this project will install approximately 2,500 tubular piles and 4,500 pairs of Z sheet piles along a total length of approximately 10 km. Construction on the first section began in September 2025. SILENT PILER™ machines press-in the sheet piles, followed by GYRO PILER™ that installs the tubular piles while maintaining the specified spacing between the adjacent piles (Skip Lock Method™). No temporary staging platforms have been erected so as not to obstruct road traffic along the levee or river vessel navigation, keeping the construction footprint to a minimum. 

The construction area is also a designated zone within Natura 2000, Europe’s largest network of nature reserves established to protect biodiversity across the EU, and nitrogen emissions are strictly regulated. For this reason, the SILENT PILER™ is powered not by diesel but by the MU200 electric power unit. For the GYRO PILER™ as well, a NoNOx (nitrogen emission reduction) filter was developed jointly with VSF, the contractor. 

A ceremony held on-site on 3 November last year to celebrate the launch of the project drew more than 100 participants, including local government officials, construction professionals, and local residents. Project representatives gave a detailed presentation on the project. Participants boarded a ferry to observe the construction from the water and showed keen interest, actively asking questions about the construction methods and progress. 

Under the Delta Programme, the Netherlands plans to reinforce approximately 1,400 km of levees and 400 sluice gates and pumping stations across the country by 2050. Water management measures such as these are being advanced not only in the Netherlands but also across Europe, including in Germany, through which the Rhine and Danube rivers flow, and in Belgium, which has a canal network centred on the Port of Antwerp. Building on the quay wall renovation project for the World Heritage-listed Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam, which has been under way since 2022, and the track record of the KIJK project, GIKEN will further deepen understanding of and confidence in press-in technologies, which are unrivalled anywhere in the world. 

■Profile of GIKEN Group
GIKEN developed the SILENT PILER™, the world’s first reaction-based, non-vibratory hydraulic pile driving machine that operates with minimal noise impacts. The GIKEN Group now actively promotes its press-in technology worldwide and contributes to the construction industry by proposing and implementing innovative solutions. The innovative press-in technology provides a unique solution and the adoption of this technology has spread to over 40 nations and regions.