BAM and SPIE commence implementation phase of ten-year basic maintenance contract for the North Sea Canal
With phase 1 now formally completed, BAM Infra Nederland and SPIE Nederland (operating as the SAEM partnership) began the implementation phase of asset maintenance on the North Sea Canal on 1 September. Commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat, the partnership will carry out basic maintenance on one of the Netherlands’ busiest economic shipping routes for the next ten years.
The Basic Maintenance Contract North Sea Canal (BOC NZK) covers the area stretching from the harbour dams at IJmuiden through to the Buiten-IJ and the boundary with the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal in Amsterdam. It is the first two-phase Asset Management contract launched by Rijkswaterstaat. This contract form was chosen due to the complexity and scale of the maintenance challenge, which includes a clear replacement requirement.
During Phase 1, from 24 June 2024 to 31 August 2025, SAEM and Rijkswaterstaat laid the foundation for collaboration, working towards a complete contract dossier. Maintenance requirements were identified and priced, while implementation phase risks were jointly mapped out and allocated.
A solid foundation for the future
Phase 1 also saw the development of five joint ten-year plans focusing on key themes such as Asset Management, Collaboration, Sustainability, Safety and Environment. These plans provide a significant boost on crucial themes for the North Sea Canal and across the wider Rijkswaterstaat–market chain, both in the short and long term, to ensure the successful delivery of this large and complex task.
