Creating land from sea

The foundation of the largest archipelago of artificial islands in China, in the Gulf of Bohai, is made from sand from the surrounding coastal regions. According to Courrier International, it therefore became “six times more profitable to fill the sea with sand to create land” because of land-use restriction laws in force since 2006 (farmland preservation). The establishment of new industrial zones in the region, such as Caofeidian, and new adjacent cities are now taking shape in the gulf.

Even though the reclamation process or the building of the embankment is profitable business that may enable the coastline to be pushed back, they could also, however, foreshadow a potential future ecological disaster.