World Heritage-listed Canal Quay Wall Renovation Project in the Netherlands Receives Japan Construction International Award

GIKEN Group (parent company: GIKEN LTD.; parent company president: Shinnosuke Moribe; hereafter “GIKEN”) is participating in a project to renovate the quay walls of World Heritage-listed canals in the Netherlands^*. The project has received an award in the Pioneering Activity Category of the 6th Japan Construction International Award of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT). This category recognises activities that contribute to the realisation of high-quality infrastructure overseas. The award recognises Japan’s unique press-in technologies for winning an international competition to help solve social issues, leading to its use in this project. It also recognises that these technologies have helped raise the visibility of Japanese companies globally.

Backed by a national policy that promotes the export of outstanding Japanese technologies to create high-quality infrastructure, GIKEN will use this award to accelerate its adoption in large-scale projects such as Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) program.

*Project for which the award was received: Innovation Partnership Quay Wall Project

MLIT launched the Japan Construction International Award in 2017, to strengthen international competitiveness and help drive overseas expansion, and calls for entries every year. Of the three categories, the Pioneering Activity Category applies to strategic activities that are currently contributing to high-quality infrastructure overseas, or that are expected to contribute in the future.

The City of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is facing the problem of ageing canal quay walls requiring renovation over 200 kilometres. However, construction with conventional methods has been difficult due to the threat of negative impacts on the World Heritage-listed scenery and the surrounding environment.

As a result, the city solicited partners globally to help develop new technologies that would accelerate the work. In May 2020, the GIKEN Group joint venture company G-Kracht B.V. was selected in first place by a long margin from a field of 16 candidates, each with technologies playing important roles around the world. The company has entered into a partnership agreement with the Amsterdam City Government as a result.

Reference: GIKEN website (https://www.giken.com/ja/solution/main-overseas-project/amsterdamworldheritage/)

Recognition of Japan’s unique press-in technologies

Conventional construction methods required construction of temporary work platforms and removal of existing structures. Removal of trees lining the canals, while cherished by the local residents, was also unavoidable. On the other hand, the Gyropress Method^TM, a rotary cutting press-in method for tubular piles, enables installation of piles directly through the existing canal structure, eliminating the need for demolition and temporary works. Also, using the GRB System^TM enables the compact construction equipment to ‘walk’ along the installed pile wall, so removal of trees can be avoided. With its press-in technologies being used as an innovative solution to construction issues, GIKEN has been validating an electric press-in system in a pilot phase started in November last year with the aim of contributing to carbon neutrality. The press-in work for the pilot phase was completed in March of this year, and discussions regarding the transition to the subsequent commercial phase* have been initiated by the client, the City of Amsterdam.

*A total of 3.3 km of construction orders will be guaranteed over an eight-year period in the commercial phase.

Ripple effect to projects in neighbouring municipalities

With the superiority of press-in technologies being observed and recognised elsewhere, another city in the Netherlands, The Hague, decided to use the Gyropress Method^TM for a project to renovate the quay walls of its own canals^*. Many cities in the Netherlands are facing the challenge of renovating quay walls that have deteriorated with age. As with the Amsterdam project, many locations have limited space for construction and also want to protect their landscape. Since their use in the Amsterdam project, press-in technologies have steadily spread throughout the country. They are expected to have a further ripple effect to projects of other municipalities in Europe and to gain prominence around the world going forward.

*For more details, see previous news release: GKN22NW012EN

Renovating canal quay walls in The Hague

■Profile of GIKEN Group
GIKEN developed SILENT PILER^TM, the world’s first reaction-based hydraulic pile jacking machine, installing piles without noise or vibration. 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.