Bouygues Travaux Publics, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, has started works on the maritime infrastructure that will constitute the first phase of Monaco’s six hectare offshore expansion.
The $1.1bn project includes the construction of a neighbourhood primarily consisting of 60,000 square metres of housing, public facilities, and an extension to the Grimaldi Forum, a seafront exhibition centre.
Other facilities such as a marina, a landscaped park and a promenade will also be built.
Eighteen huge, trapezoid reinforced concrete caissons will be filled during construction, each 26m tall and weighing 10,000 tonnes.
The neighbourhood aims to qualify for a number of environmental certifications, including HQE Aménagement, BREEAM and the Clean Ports label.
Bouygues Construction built three ports in the Tangier Med complex in Morocco between 2003 and 2014 and has recently been chosen to design and build the extension of the new port of Calais.
Philippe Bonnave, Bouygues Construction chief executive said: "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to take part in the development of the Principality of Monaco by way of this new land reclamation project which will create six hectares of habitable space, meeting the highest ambitions with respect to sustainable development and environmental protection."
A city state on the French Mediterranean coast, Monaco has a population of 38,000 on a land mass of 200 hectares, making it the most densely populated country in the world.
Image: Monaco (Wikimedia Commons/Katonams)
