Project Wilhelminakanaal Lock II

A total of 4 km of Wilhelminakanaal between the inflow of the Donge (west of Lock II) and Lock III will be made suitable for class IV vessels with a maximum allowable draft of 2.80 m.

In this project, the current Lock II will be demolished and a new Lock II will be built. The completion of Lock III at a canal level of 7.70 m + NAP is also part of the scope. This approach will allow more goods to be transported by water in the near future. Water-bound companies in Tilburg will become more accessible, providing more opportunities for the local economy.

The Wilhelminakanaal Lock II project is being executed by Rijkswaterstaat on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, with co-financing from the Province of North Brabant and the Municipality of Tilburg.

Results of Market Consultation

In January 2025, the market consultation took place. This was attended by 29 market parties. Companies, such as contractors, could respond to the approach for this project. These responses and various individual follow-up conversations contributed to the preparation and implementation of the final tender. This early collaboration with the market has led to:

• A more balanced risk distribution between Rijkswaterstaat and the market in advance.
• The possibility to establish jointly agreed principles in the dialogue phase, so that risks during bidding remain limited on an equal playing field.
• The application of new, improved contract conditions (UAV GC 2025 instead of UAV GC 2005).
• A broader and reserved continuous disruption period (18 months instead of 12).
• The provision by Rijkswaterstaat of the Scope design including key design choices.
• A reduction in the number of BPKV (sub)criteria from 9 to 3.
• Narrowing down to 3 instead of 4 parties to participate in the tender.

The concrete improvements and a summary report of all discussions have been published for transparency on TenderNed .

Collaboration with the Market

The contractor is given the task of developing the design for the new lock within the frameworks and conditions of Rijkswaterstaat. We provide the functional requirements, the contractor designs and builds the new lock and performs maintenance for a year. For us, the focus is on reliability in collaboration with the contractor and our stakeholders.

Good collaboration is essential for mutual success. This has priority both during the tendering and realization phases. We have already focused on this since early 2025 during the market consultation and in-depth market discussions leading up to the publication.

We will continue this in the dialogue discussions with the parties who apply as candidates for the contract. During these discussions, we will arrive at jointly agreed principles for realization, a balanced risk distribution, and we will be able to optimally utilize each others expertise, knowledge, and experience. This way, we help each other towards mutual success.

Planning

Interested contractor combinations can apply for the tender until July 18, 2025, at TenderNed .

In the second quarter of 2026, we expect to award the contract. The commissioning of the Wilhelminakanaal for CEMT class IV is currently expected for 2030.