摩纳哥王子阿尔伯特二世最近表示要通过填海扩地的方式扩大土地面积，以缓解人口过于密集的现状。据悉，该项工程将耗资100亿英镑，计划自王宫和历史中心所在地西部的芳薇耶区向地中海扩展，扩地面积约12.5英亩，相当于5个足球场那么大，规划中的建筑物包括豪华地产、写字楼、商业及公共建筑。其实，这个填海扩地计划去年就已提出，后来因为全球金融危机到来，同时一向注重环保的王子也担心此举会破坏海洋环境，因此被搁置。近期再次将该计划提上议事日程是因为王子觉得时机已成熟，而且为了保护海洋环境和生物，此次所有扩充的面积都将以石油钻塔等桩柱为支撑，并不会对海洋进行填埋。

Prince Albert II of Monaco is planning to reclaim land from the sea with a ground-breaking scheme that will allow the tiny population to expand.

Prince Albert II of Monaco is planning to reclaim land from the sea with a ground-breaking scheme that will allow the tiny population to expand.

He has launched a drive to build into the Mediterranean to create an area around 12.5 acres – roughly the size of five football pitches.

It will extend from the Fontvieille district at the western foot of the "rock", where Monaco's palace and historic centre are situated.

The £10 billion plan was first floated last year but dropped due to the financial crisis and the "green" Prince's concerns it would damage the marine environment.

But the prince has now decided the time is right to try again and is planning a smaller development that will include a mixture of luxury property, offices and industry and public buildings.

Monaco is the world's most densely populated country, with a current population of just over 32,000. Only a fifth of these are native Monegasques and a select few newcomers are taken on each year.

The land reclamation will be made fiendishly complex by the eco-conscious Prince, as he has insisted the entire extension should be built on stilts like an oil rig in order not to disrupt the marine life beneath.

The "green" monarch, who drives an electric car and travelled to the North Pole to measure the effects of global warming, said he wanted the vast project to be an eco-showcase that would set an example to the world.

Gilles Tonelli, Monaco's governmental adviser on equipment, the environment and urban planning, said the country was running out of space.

"Fontvieille contributed hugely to the economic prosperity of Monaco over the past 20 years," he said.

"The presiding logic is that we need an extra 300,000 squared meters floor space per decade. We have made very precise calculations on the ground we still have left, space we can make via urban restructuring, and the answer is we're alright until 2020. But after that we'll have a big deficit."

Whereas the earlier project was to be privately funded by consortia, this time the Monegasque state will handle the financing to minimise risk.

Mr Tonelli said the project could be completed in several phases.

The Prince has asked three groups of international environmental experts to study sedimentology and currentology, marine biodiversity and creating "false reefs" to support a wealth of marine life. They will hand in their conclusions in the next few months.

Major names from the world of architecture will then be asked to come up with new designs, with construction not expected to start before 2015.

In an interview in Le Parisien, Prince Albert said the new project must be a "model of sustainability". He has pledged to reduce Monaco's green gas emissions by 30 per cent before 2020, and by 80 per cent for 2050.

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(Agencies)

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）