HUGE NEW DAM

Evening Star, Issue 23130, 2 December 1938, Page 10

HUGE NEW DAM

NETHERLANDS ENTERPRISE To add 120,000 acres of fertile soil to its arable land, the Netherlands is engaged on the enterprise of fencing in another bit of erstwhile Zuider Zee by an enclosing dam ot more than 36 miles in length at a cost of nearly £20,000,000. Preparatory work on this North-east Polder—the North-west Polder of 50,000 acres has already been in cultivation for several years and is yielding excellent crops—was started in 1936, but now the building of the 36 miles enclosing dam is in progress and will h.e completed in 1940. Pumping out the water is expected to take another year. After that, cultivation and colonisation of the newly-won soil is to begin. The size of this second part of the Zuider Zee reclamation scheme, which comprises the ultimate draining of four such “ polders ” and is to add 10 per cent, to Netherlands’ arable soil, may be Judged from the fact that 5,600 labourers are to have permanent jobs for a period of 15 years. Meanwhile the Government has had to decide whether it would be justified in extending tho arable soil of the country at a time when the farmers have already been given considerable subsidies—sometimes even up to 200,000,000 florins (£22,000,000) a year. It was realised, however, that closing of foreign markets and unstable world condition? must he an abnormal and passing situation. Moreover, from the standpoint of jobless relief further execution of the draining scheme was very desirable, since it would give something valuable in exchange for tho sums that would otherwise have to be spent on the dole. Finally it was decided to go on with the work. But it had to be economically justified, so it was laid down that the price of the new soil should not exceed 1,000 florins per acre. The height of the dam is to be 12 to 16 feet above the water level, while the width, in conformity with the depth of the sea bottom, varies from 150 to 265 feet. For comparison it may be added that the barring dam running from the coast of North Holland to Friesland, which was built in 1932 to separate the North Sea from the Zuider Zee, is 20 miles long and is 2Jft high above the water level and 500 ft in average width.