Giken Europe establishes a joint-venture company for the World Heritage listed canal project in the Netherlands

The group company of GIKEN LTD., Giken Europe BV (Head Office: Almere, The Netherlands, President: Shinnosuke Moribe), established a joint venture company, G-Kracht BV, with local partners Gebr. De Koning and Van Gelder Group BV.

In 2020, Giken Europe and its partners were awarded first place in the Innovation Partnership Quay Wall project (IPK) with the city of Amsterdam. The IPK project was instigated to find the world’s most innovative solution for quay wall renovation in the World Heritage listed canal district of Amsterdam. Going forward, the joint venture will be the main contractor with the city of Amsterdam.

The project has now completed the conceptual design of the quay wall structure. It is moving to a detailed design of the pilot phase with various monitoring plans. Despite the impact of the COVID-19, the pilot construction is scheduled to commence in 2022.

After eight years of commercial phase*, the city of Amsterdam plans to adopt the methodology as a standard construction method. We anticipate that this will bring continuous construction orders in the future.

GIKEN Group will continue to work closely with its partners to promote the advantages of Press-in technologies and our presence as a global engineering company worldwide through the IPK project.

*In the commercialization phase, the group responsible for development of the innovative technology can exclusively receive orders for constructions using the innovative technology. A total of 3,300 meters of construction orders will be guaranteed over an eight-year period for the group that has completed the pilot phase. Other than G-Kracht BV, two groups participate in demonstration work. Please also refer to the previous news release (https://www.giken.com/en/release/22_may_2020/) for the projects background, and the collaboration agreement with the city of Amsterdam. Details are also available on G-Kracht website (https://www.g-kracht.nu/en/).

Among the approximately 600 kilometers of quay wall Amsterdam City manages, countermeasures in the 200-kilometer section are said to be required. The Amsterdam Government put an international call out for innovations that could shorten construction times and minimize environmental impacts while protecting the cityscape in 2018. In May 2020, G-Kracht received the highest rating of all global tenderers from a field of sixteen international parties. The pilot phase will commence after completing detailed design and machine development to comply with local specifications.

During the pilot phase, 280 tubular piles will be installed by the Gyropress^TM Method and the GRB^TM System to reinforce the existing quay wall of the 208m section. Upon the successful conclusion of works in the commercial phase, the city of Amsterdam will adopt the methodology as a standard construction method to renovate the quay walls. Once adopted as a standard construction method, G-Kracht BV’s exclusive right to receive orders will end. However, we can considerably expect an expansion of machine sales and rentals. Renovations of the quay wall is scheduled to continue even after the commercialization phase. We wish to continue to secure revenues over a number of years.

In the Netherlands, many large-scale projects based on the Delta Program* are scheduled, and Giken Europe is actively conducting proposal activities for these projects. GIKEN Group will use this project, which is attracting global attention, as a foothold to further adopt construction methods in large-scale and important projects overseas.

*Delta Program aims a sustainable flood risk management, etc., in the Netherlands by 2032. An average of €1.25 billion a year has been earmarked for the program up to 2032.

Company Name : G-Kracht BV
Location : Papendrecht, South Holland, Netherlands
Establishment date : 30 April 2021
Purpose of JV : To Promote Canal Renovation Projects
Equity investment : 1,020,000 Euro planned (Three companies to invest one-third each)

Company Address : Scheepvaartweg 1, 3356LL, Papendrecht, the Netherlands
Date of Incorporation : September 25, 1978
Number of employees  : 52
Major line of business  : Civil engineering and general construction

Company Address : J.P. Broekhovenstraat 36, 8081HC Elburg, the Netherlands
Date of Incorporation : March 17 1989
Number of employees : 216
Major line of business : Architecture, general construction and facilities construction

■Profile of GIKEN Group
GIKEN developed the SILENT PILER, the world's first reaction-based hydraulic pile jacking machine, installing piles with no noise and vibration. GIKEN Group now actively promotes the Press-in Technology worldwide and contributes to the construction industry by proposing and implementing innovative solutions. The innovative technology of press-in provides a unique solution and the adoption of this technology has grown to more than 40 nations and regions.