Witteveen + Bos

Advice in Construction, Infrastructure and Environment

Witteveen+Bos provides advice and designs regarding the fields of water, infrastructure, environment and construction. “In recent years, we have been noticing a shift of our activities to abroad. The collaboration with partners in several countries, such as local engineering agencies, has been becoming increasingly more important. We advise, implement our knowledge and expertise and learn from our partners, so we can get the best out of two worlds. We therefore work very closely together with local people and companies. This way, our solutions are in line with local laws and regulations and the available construction materials, for example. In addition, local companies can be attracted for the project realisation in a better way,” says Karin Sluis.

Two examples are illustrated to gain insight into the work of Witteveen+Bos:

Semarang, Java – Mangrove project
Awarded a Dutch price – ‘Ingeniousness’ – was the mangrove project on Java. Originally, there was a mangrove forest in front of the North coast of Java that formed a natural defence line in front of the sea. In the past decennia, the mangroves have been cut down in order to make way for fish and shrimp nurseries. The result was erosion of the coastline and an increase in water nuisance and floods. With several different partners, the project ‘Building with nature’ was prepared and executed by building a dam wall of water permeable bamboo filled with brushwood. The project has led to the erosion stagnating and the mangroves growing back in a natural way.

Atyrau, Kazachstan – Reuse of waste water
In Atyrau, a project for the reuse of waste water was realised in collaboration with partners. An installation in which waste water (sour and pickle water), originating from the gas and oil processing industry, is reused in a demineralised water system. Because of this, the water use has decreased significantly and the water surface of the Caspian Sea is protected against pollution.

The ambition for the coming years is to increase revenue from a firm foundation in the Netherlands