Growth in Principality of Monaco

The first phase of this immense project began this month, September 2016, although work on the new offshore urban extension project is not expected to be completed until 2025.

The project includes the construction of an eco-neighbourhood primarily consisting of housing (60,000 m²), public facilities, an extension to the Grimaldi Forum, a public car park, a marina with pedestrian wharves, a landscaped park, a seafront promenade and a shaded, planted walkway running the length of the Japanese Garden.

The foundations for this project will take around 40 months to complete and will involve hundreds of thousands of tons of sand being brought from Sicily to Monaco. A protective barrier of 18 reinforced concrete 'caissons' - 26m tall and each weighing 10,000 tons - will be positioned to protect the new project from strong sea swells. The sea inside this belt will then be replaced by rocks and filled with the sand shipped from northern Sicily.

The current principality has a surface area of 485 acres, of which nearly 100 were recovered from the sea. Prince Albert II, who is well known for his "green" way of thinking, has said that he wants this vast project to be an eco-showcase that would set an example to the world. Although environmentalists are concerned about the damage the project will cause to marine life, the companies involved have said that the project will pay the closest attention to protecting the environment, preserving biodiversity and respecting the neighbouring areas, sites and landscapes.

The €2 billion offshore extension project will take ten years to complete.