Land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

is done in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

through a policy of building land in the sea with

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

blocks 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 added to its total land area by reclaiming land from the sea.

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 (; ) is the central ward and a quartier in the Principality of Monaco. The quartier's landmarks include Port Hercules, the Rainier III Nautical Stadium, and the Princess Antoinette Park. Its farmers' market, at ''Place d'Armes, ...

and Larvotto/Bas Moulins. Monaco depuis since 1861

History

Prince Albert's father, Rainier III, was known as the "Builder Prince". In an attempt to further develop the economy of Monaco, he first supported the idea of

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

. 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 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 boat 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 opened in December 2024. It is part of the traditional ''Quartier'' of Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco, and constitutes the eleventh modern administ ...

, also known as Portier Cove, and Mareterra by its commercial name, was officially inaugurated for use on December 4, 2024. The project costed € 2 billion and is grounded on eighteen 26-meter high caissons weighing 10,000 ton each. The Land Reclamation itself was completed in 2020, while the land development was finalised in 2024.

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

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s, 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

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