Launching a New Tidal Area in Wilhelmsburg

Hamburg, 14 February 2013 – Over the next three years a new intertidal shallow water zone will be created on a 47 hectare outer dyke area on the eastern side of the Elbe island of Wilhelmsburg. Preliminary work has been carried out since July 2012 on the former Spadenlander Busch / Kreetsand dredged material site, and extensive earthworks are now ready to begin. The Dyke Shack visitor centre will provide information about the context and background of the Kreetsand project.

Wolfgang Hurtienne, Managing Director of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Hans Gabànyi, Director of the Agency for Nature and Resource Conservation, and Uli Hellweg, Director of the IBA Hamburg GmbH – Internationale Bauausstellung (International Building Exhibition) – today jointly announced the start of excavation work in Kreetsand.

The creation of the Kreetsand Tidal Area marks the beginning of the HPA’s efforts to implement an important pillar of its Tidal Elbe Concept. This was devised jointly by the HPA and the federal Water and Shipping Authority, and is geared towards ensuring unhindered access to Hamburg’s harbour in the long term. In doing so, it seeks to achieve a sustainable approach to economic interests and the natural environment alike, while also taking the people who live in the area into account. At the same time, this concept aims to counteract the effects of climate change.

“The ‘Kreetsand Pilot Project’ as a pioneering role within the Tidal Elbe Concept. We are creating additional tidal volume of around a million cubic metres within the new 30 hectare shallow water zone. This will allow us to lessen the effect of the tides and reduce the adverse balance of strength between ebb and flow," says Wolfgang Hurtienne of the HPA. In general, this will result in lower levels of sediment transported upriver and thus reduce the deposits that have to be dredged regularly from Hamburg’s harbour and the upper part of the tidal Elbe.

After it is completed, it is intended that the area will develop into a particularly valuable habitat that will be protected as part of the Auenlandschaft Norderelbe Naturschutzgebiet (Northern Elbe Pastures Conservation Area). The shallow water zone will act as a haven for a multitude of fish, while the shores will offer optimal conditions for Elbe water dropwort, an aquatic plant that is found only in the tidal Elbe.

According to Hans Gabànyi from the State Ministry for Urban Development and Environment, “Kreetsand is also one of the first projects to be carried out as part of the Integrated Management Plan for the Elbe Estuary in Hamburg. It is still very rare for land to be given back to the tides and the river along the tidal Elbe, so Kreetsand’s impact on nature conservation goes far beyond Hamburg itself. This shallow water zone, influenced by the tides, has the potential to become a habitat for a large number of rare and endangered species."

The “Kreetsand Pilot Project” is set to yield findings that may benefit the planning of other areas along the tidal Elbe. The Dyke Shack, an information pavilion on the dyke itself, is to house a vivid exhibition explaining the project’s complex background and unique features, put together by the HPA in conjunction with the IBA Hamburg and the State Office for Streets, Bridges and Water. "The Dyke Shack is the starting point for visitors to the IBA’s “Elbe Islands Dyke Park” project, which allows people to experience the Elbe and brings the river and its tides to life,” says Uli Hellweg, Director of IBA Hamburg GmbH. "This means that Kreetsand is also one of the projects of the IBA Hamburg."

The Hamburg Port Authority has run a forward-looking one-stop harbour management programme since 2005. As a public institution, the HPA is responsible for the efficient, resource-friendly, and sustainable preparation and implementation of infrastructure projects within the port. The HPA is the contact for all matters relating to water- and land-based infrastructure, safe shipping, port railway facilities, property management, and economic conditions in the harbour. In addition, the HPA looks after the requisite areas and handles all official tasks and port management services. www.hamburg-port-authority.de

Press contact: HPA Hamburg Port Authority | Press office | Tel.: +49 40 42847-2300 | pressestelle@hpa.hamburg.de

International Building Exhibition IBA Hamburg GmbH | Am Zollhafen 12 |  20539 Hamburg | www.iba-hamburg.de

Press contact: Rainer Müller  | Tel.: +49 40 226 227 – 335 | presse@iba-hamburg.de