About the Speakers – Bert Groothuizen

Name: A.G.M. (Bert) Groothuizen

Title:civil engineer (Msc), University of Technology, Delft

Present position: Manager Marketing & Public Relations, Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors.

Bert Groothuizen graduated in 1975 from Delft University. He started in 1977. He was involved in the design of coastal protection projects, in breakwater design, in the closure of tidal dams and the engineering of the erosion protection of the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier and many coastal and dredging projects in countries outside the Netherlands.

In 1986 he was asked to take up the position as Area Manager Far East, residing in Singapore and Djakarta. He was responsible for the contracting and execution of dedging, marine construction and offshore projects in the region (Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Hongkong).

From 1991 up to 2002 he left the dredging business and has been partner and CEO of a B2B management consultancy firm.

From mid 2002 he joint Van Oordagain, now in the position of Manager Corporate Marketing & Public Relations.

Title: Where will we live in 2050?

Where will we live in 2050? Rising global population, rising urbanisation, rising coastal development, a rising sea level and ever depleting sources to fulfil our needs are just a few thoughts that we have to keep in mind to be able to answer that question. In an increasing pace the world is changing and that puts an enormous pressure on factors that we usually take for granted. Obviously this brings with a set of problems that humanity has not seen before. Or as All Gore likes to call it: “An Inconvenient Truth”.

This paper will focus on the inconvenient truth that more city space is needed in order to have a sustainable economic development. It will show that there may be a viable solution for further coastal city development.

The role of Van Oord, a worldwide operating Dutch dredging and marine contractor, in major reclamation projects around the world and in particular in the construction of ‘icons’ like Palm islands and The World in Dubai will be highlighted during the presentation.

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