Land reclamation

In Ancient Egypt, the rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (c. 2000–1800 BC) undertook a far-sighted land reclamation scheme to increase agricultural output.

A similar land reclamation system using dams and drainage canals was used in the Greek Copaic Basin during the Middle Helladic Period (c. 1900–1600 BC).

[1] Another early large-scale project was the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, realized in 1612 adding 70 square kilometres (27 sq mi) of land.

In Hong Kong the Praya Reclamation Scheme added 20 to 24 hectares (50 to 60 acres) of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction.

The city of Rio de Janeiro was largely built on reclaimed land, as was Wellington, New Zealand.

Deep cement mixing is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either dredging or draining may be contaminated and hence needs to be contained.

It is commonly used for maintaining reclaimed land masses as sedimentation, a natural process, fills channels and harbors.

[7] Morocco Nigeria South Africa Tanzania Bahrain China India Indonesia Japan Lebanon Maldives Malaysia Pakistan Philippines Qatar Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates Belarus Belgium Denmark Estonia Finland France Greece Ireland Italy Monaco Netherlands Norway Russia Spain Turkey United Kingdom Ukraine Bahamas Bermuda Canada Mexico United States Australia Fiji New Zealand Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Panama Uruguay Venezuela Agriculture was a driver of land reclamation before industrialisation.

In some parts of the world, new reclamation projects are restricted or no longer allowed, due to environmental protection laws.

Reclamation projects have strong negative impacts on coastal populations, although some species can take advantage of the newly created area.

Reclaimed land is highly susceptible to soil liquefaction during earthquakes,[34] which can amplify the amount of damage that occurs to buildings and infrastructure.

Subsidence is another issue, both from soil compaction on filled land, and also when wetlands are enclosed by levees and drained to create polders.

Praya Reclamation Scheme began in the late 1860s and consisted of two stages totaling 20 to 24 hectares (50 to 60 acres).

[38][39] In addition, as the city expanded, new towns in different decades were mostly built on reclaimed land, such as Kwun Tong, Sha Tin-Ma On Shan, Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O, Tuen Mun, and West Kowloon.

As of 2003[update], plans for 99 km2 (38 sq mi) more are to go ahead,[46] even though disputes persist with Malaysia over Singapore's extensive land reclamation works.