Australian marine projects company Hall Contracting has been awarded a contract to deliver a 1.81-kilometre coastal protection system in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).
The company will mobilise to the RMI in early 2025 to construct a new seawall on behalf of the country's Ministry of Public Works, Infrastructure and Utilities.
Hall Contracting CEO and Director Cameron Hall said that, with the majority of the RMI's land situated less than two metres above sea level, the new infrastructure will help protect residents from rising sea levels and wave overtopping.
"As one of the world's smallest and lowest-lying nations, RMI is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and severe weather events," Mr Hall said. "Climate projection modelling indicates that the global median sea level could rise between 0.43 metres and 0.84 metres by 2100, bringing more frequent and intense coastal flooding, severe coastal erosion, and permanent submergence of some areas of the Marshall Islands."
The new seawall will be constructed on the Ebeye atoll, using approximately 65,000 tonnes of armour rock to minimise erosion and greatly reduce inundation from storm surges.
Hall Contracting will mobilise to Ebeye in January 2025 to commence the coastal protection works, which are being funded by the World Bank and Green Climate Fund.
