Land reclamation is done in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

because land is very scarce, as the country is comparatively tiny, at . To solve this problem and to continue economic development, for years the country has been adding to its total land area by reclaiming land from the sea. Monaco - Fontvieille (48930251626)

Geography

The entire district of Fontvieille was constructed on land reclaimed from the sea in the western part of Monaco in the 1970s. It is the newest of the four traditional quartiers (districts) in the principality of Monaco, and one of ten Wards for modern administrative purposes. Land has also been added to areas of

La Condamine La Condamine ( lij, A Cundamina ) is the central ward in the Principality of Monaco. Its landmarks include Port Hercules, the Rainier III Nautical Stadium, and the Princess Antoinette Park. Its farmer's market at the ''Place d'Armes'' dates fro ...

and Larvotto/Bas Moulins. Monaco depuis since 1861

History

Prince Albert's father,

Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling ...

, was known as the "Builder Prince". In an attempt to further develop the economy of Monaco, he first supported the idea of land reclamation. Since it was impossible to extend into France, the only solution was to reclaim land from the sea. First, the Larvotto beach district was created in the early 1960s, then the Fontvieille industrial area, increasing the principality's surface area by approximately 20 percent. More recently,

Port Hercules Port Hercules (french: Port Hercule) is the only deep-water port in Monaco. The port has been in use since ancient times. The modern port was completed in 1926, and underwent substantial improvements in the 1970s. It covers almost , enough to pro ...

has been extended to welcome larger cruise ships on one side, and to provide land for a new

Yacht Club A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

on the other.

Projects

Le Portier

Le Portier Le Portier, sometimes referred to as Portier Cove or Mareterra, is a residential area under construction, expected for 2025, that will be part of the traditional ''Quartier'' of Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco. It will be the eleventh mod ...

, also known as Portier Cove, is the main land reclamation project in Monaco as of 2020. The reclamation itself has been completed but the land is still undeveloped and is planned to be fully completed in 2025.

Others

Prince Albert II is currently planning to reclaim even more land. He intends to build into the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

to create a new area about 5 hectares (12.5 acres) in size. The new district will extend from the Fontvieille district at the western foot of the

Rock of Monaco The Rock of Monaco (french: Rocher de Monaco) is a tall monolith on the Mediterranean coast of the Principality of Monaco. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and the Port Hercules. History The Rock has been a coveted possession from the beginn ...

, where Monaco's palace and historic centre are situated. The project will cost an estimated €11 billion. It was suspended in 2009 due to the

global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

and the Prince's concerns regarding the marine environment, but the project was resumed in 2010 and was planned to be completed by 2014. However, as of 2021, it has yet to be finished.

Issues

Monaco's coastline on the Mediterranean is already a fragile and vulnerable environment. Any further land reclamation projects threaten to disturb or damage the coastal ecosystem. Monaco's leaders have approached the prospect of further land reclamation with caution and have stated that new projects would have to meet strict environmental standards to limit damage to flora and wildlife. Due to the concerns that land reclamation could potentially damage local marine ecosystems, Prince Albert II has insisted the entire expansion be placed on stilts, like an oil rig, in order to disturb the sea floor as little as possible.

References

{{World topic , title = Land reclamation , prefix = Land reclamation in , noredlinks = yes Geography of Monaco Land reclamation Coastal engineering Water and the environment