Rijkswaterstaat Names Van der Lee to Keep the Eems Shipping Channel Clear

Standfirst

The Dutch national infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat has awarded a three year maintenance dredging contract worth 23.9 million euros for the Eems fairway to Fa. Gebr. Van der Lee. The contract keeps the shipping channel connecting the North Sea to Eemshaven clear for maritime traffic and drew six competing tenders.

Introduction

Shipping channels do not stay open on their own. Sediment builds up constantly and without regular dredging, a fairway like the one connecting the North Sea to the Dutch port of Eemshaven would gradually become too shallow for the vessels that depend on it.

Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch government agency responsible for the country's major waterways and infrastructure, has just secured a contractor to keep that specific channel navigable for the next several years.

Why This Contract Matters

The Eems fairway is a critical maritime access route in the northern Netherlands, connecting the North Sea to Eemshaven, a significant Dutch port near the German border. Keeping this route at safe navigable depth directly affects the vessels, cargo and maritime activity that rely on it.

Beyond the physical dredging work, this contract also covers monthly surveying, dredging programme planning and supplying area data that supports the creation of Electronic Navigation Charts, the digital charts vessels rely on for safe passage, making the winning contractor a genuine ongoing partner in the channel's management rather than a one-off works contractor.

Contract Timeline

The contract was concluded on 3 August 2026. The notice recording this award was dispatched on 13 August 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 14 August 2026, under OJ S issue 156/2026. The contract runs for 36 months, with an option to extend by a further year.

Contract Overview

Rijkswaterstaat Programma's, Projecten en Onderhoud ran an open procedure under Directive 2014/24/EU for maintenance dredging and pumping works, classified under CPV code 45252124, Dredging and pumping works. The place of performance is recorded across multiple administrative NUTS regions spanning the northern Netherlands, reflecting the broader regional jurisdiction under which this specific coastal and estuary work falls.

Six tenders were received. The winning bid, from Fa. Gebr. Van der Lee, came in at 23,921,000.00 EUR, matching the notice's confirmed value of all contracts awarded exactly.

Key Contract Details

Project Scope

The contractor must carry out maintenance dredging based on an agreed dredging programme across three specific areas: the Eems to North Sea fairway, the Eemshaven access channel and designated passing lanes and waiting areas used by vessels.

Beyond the physical dredging, the scope includes monthly surveys of the dredging zones, drafting a proposed dredging programme based on those surveys, carrying out work verification surveys and supplying area data that supports Rijkswaterstaat's role as asset manager and enables production of Electronic Navigation Charts. The contractor is also responsible for arranging necessary permits and notifications and keeping stakeholders informed during dredging operations.

About the Contracting Authority

Rijkswaterstaat Programma's, Projecten en Onderhoud

Rijkswaterstaat Programma's, Projecten en Onderhoud is registered as a central government authority with housing and community amenities as its classified activity, based in Utrecht. Rijkswaterstaat is the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, responsible for the country's major roads, waterways and water management infrastructure, including the maintenance of critical shipping channels like the Eems fairway.

About the Organisations Involved

Fa. Gebr. Van der Lee

Fa. Gebr. Van der Lee, based in Hagestein in the Utrecht region and classified as a medium sized enterprise, won this contract with a tender value of 23,921,000.00 EUR. The tender was not formally ranked against competitors in the notice's records and no subcontracting was declared, meaning Van der Lee will carry out the dredging and associated survey and reporting work directly.

Procurement Analysis

Rijkswaterstaat ran this as an open procedure and received six competing tenders, a solid competitive field for a specialised maritime dredging contract of this kind. The award criteria description confirms the contract was decided on a best price quality ratio basis, referred to in Dutch procurement practice as BPKV, combining price and quality documentation submitted with each tender.

Notably, the specific point weighting for both the price and quality criteria is recorded as zero in this notice, with the actual assessment method and achievable financial value per criterion instead described in a separate tender guide, the aanbestedingsleidraad. This is a data gap worth flagging directly: the notice itself does not disclose how heavily price versus quality actually factored into the final decision and interested parties would need to consult the underlying tender documentation for that detail.

Additional Procurement Facts

The contract is not financed with EU funds and is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement. No framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system applies. Complaints about the procurement procedure are first directed to Rijkswaterstaat's central complaints point for tendering, with further recourse available through the Civil Court in The Hague.

Market and Industry Perspective

Maintenance dredging of critical Dutch shipping channels is a specialised, recurring category of infrastructure work and Rijkswaterstaat's use of a multi year contract with a built in renewal option reflects the ongoing, cyclical nature of sediment management in tidal and estuarine environments like the Ems.

Six tenders received for a contract of this technical specificity suggests a healthy competitive market of Dutch dredging and maritime civil works contractors capable of delivering this kind of work.

Economic Significance

At close to 24 million euros over three years, with a possible fourth year if the renewal option is exercised, this is a substantial ongoing infrastructure maintenance commitment supporting maritime access to Eemshaven, a significant northern Dutch port.

Future Procurement Opportunities

The disclosed one year renewal option is the clearest near term development to watch, offering Van der Lee continuity beyond the initial three year term without a new competitive tender. Beyond that, Rijkswaterstaat will need to run a fresh tender for this fairway's maintenance once the contract, including any extension, eventually concludes.

Opportunities for Suppliers

Dredging and maritime civil works contractors interested in future Rijkswaterstaat waterway maintenance tenders should note the strong competitive field this specific contract attracted and should ensure familiarity with the agency's aanbestedingsleidraad tender guide documents, since detailed award methodology is consistently published there rather than in the summary notice itself.

What Businesses Should Watch

Dredging contractors and maritime infrastructure firms should watch for whether Rijkswaterstaat exercises its one year renewal option on this contract and should monitor for similar waterway maintenance tenders covering other Dutch shipping channels and port access routes as they come up for renewal.

NetherlandsTenders.com Procurement Intelligence

This award illustrates the routine but essential infrastructure work that keeps Dutch maritime trade routes functional, recurring maintenance dredging contracts that rarely attract public attention but directly determine whether ports like Eemshaven remain accessible to shipping.

Its strategic importance lies in the breadth of responsibility handed to the winning contractor, extending well beyond physical dredging into surveying, data management supporting navigation chart production and stakeholder communication. This reflects a broader trend of Rijkswaterstaat structuring its waterway maintenance contracts as integrated management relationships rather than narrow works only engagements.

Suppliers can draw a practical lesson from the way award criteria were disclosed in this notice: the headline notice recorded a zero point weighting for both price and quality criteria, with the real evaluation methodology reserved for the separate tender guide. Firms competing for future Rijkswaterstaat contracts should always treat the published notice as a starting point and consult full tender documentation directly, since critical evaluation detail is often not reproduced in the summary award notice itself.

Supplier Takeaways

• Six tenders were received for this specialised maritime dredging contract, indicating solid competitive interest
• The award criteria description confirms a best price quality ratio evaluation, though specific point weightings are not disclosed in the notice itself
• The contract scope extends beyond dredging into surveying, data management and navigation chart support, reflecting an integrated management relationship
• A one year renewal option exists beyond the initial three year term
• No subcontracting was declared, indicating the winning contractor will deliver all scope directly

Key Takeaways

• Rijkswaterstaat has awarded a 23,921,000.00 EUR maintenance dredging contract for the Eems fairway to Fa. Gebr. Van der Lee
• The contract covers dredging of the Eems to North Sea fairway, the Eemshaven access channel and passing and waiting areas
• Six tenders were received and the contract runs for 36 months with a possible 1 year extension
• The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement but not financed with EU funds
• No subcontracting was declared by the winning contractor

Conclusion

This contract keeps one of the northern Netherlands' key maritime access routes open for the vessels that depend on it, an essential but often invisible piece of infrastructure maintenance. For Fa. Gebr. Van der Lee, it is a substantial multi year engagement combining hands on dredging work with an ongoing data and stakeholder management role.

For the wider Dutch dredging sector, this award confirms continued demand for specialised maintenance contractors capable of servicing the country's critical shipping channels, work that will remain necessary for as long as ships need clear water to reach Dutch ports.

Source: Tenders Electronic Daily (TED), Contract Award Notice 565072-2026, Official Journal of the European Union, OJ S issue 156/2026, published on 14/08/2026.