On 25th August 2021, Michael Kalthoff, Member of the Board at RAG Aktiengesell-schaft, Essen/Germany, and Prof. Hans-Heinrich Witte, President of the Federal Shipping and Waterways Administration (WSV), Bonn/Germany, signed in Essen an agreement on final subsidence damage control for the Rhine bed in the Duisburg and Wesel region (Figure 1).
This agreement between the two parties, RAG and WSV, marks a successful end to years of effective and focused cooperation on the Rhine. In particular, as a result of the decades of coal mining, the Rhine bed between Duisburg and Wesel would frequently sink and need to be regularly raised.
Prof. Witte: “The conclusion we have reached today enables us to purposefully guide the Rhine into the future. We are drawing on our extensive experience and expertise in waterways engineering in the agreed subsidence damage control measures, as the Rhine is crucial to our future too.”
Kalthoff: “After a series of constructive negotiations, we are delighted to have reached a final agreement with the WSV. We have always cooperated in good faith in the past. Our final cost contribution will enable the Rhine bed to be stabilised in the long term and finally conclude the subsidence damage control work.”
Since mining activities have come to an end, the Rhine bed will be stabilised for the long term and final subsidence damage control work completed. This subsidence damage control work was planned by the WSV and is based on the expert reports compiled by the Federal Institute for Waterways Engineering and Research and the Federal Institute of Hydrology.
RAG agrees that these plans are a technically sensible conclusion to previous measures taken and is participating in the work with a final one-off contribution of approximately 15 M €. (RAG/Si)
