ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DURING DREDGING AND LAND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS IN KISH COMMERCIAL PORT

The presented paper describes the severe environmental mitigation plan, which was conducted prior to commencement and during the dredging and land reclamation operation in Kish Island in year 2012. Kish is a 91.5 km2 resort island situated 18 km from southern coastline of Iran and 200 km north-west of Dubai. Kish Island with its strategic location, magnificent nature and rich cultural heritage is one of the main tourism destinations in Iran. Being a free trade zone Kish Island is the destination of approximately one million tourists annually. Kish Commercial Port with cargo throughput of around 1,000,000 tons in year 2005 and cargo throughput of around 2,000,000 tons in year 2010 is one of the growing ports in the country (the records do not include the number of imported and exported vehicles). Land has always been considered as a high-valued commodity in this developing region. Therefore, land reclamation has always been included.