West Palm Beach, Fla. – April 26, 2007 – ARCADIS (NASDAQ: ARCAF, EURONEXT: ARCAD) has been awarded a contract from the City of West Palm Beach to provide design, assist in permitting, bidding and to perform engineering services during construction for five projects within the City. Services will focus on the City’s North Flagler Drive, 33rd Street, Flagler Court, Carver Canal crossings and Market Street projects.

“We are excited about the opportunity to provide our expertise to the City of West Palm Beach,” said Dave Thomas, executive vice president of the south region. “We pride ourselves in our top quality capabilities, staff and services.”

The scope of services that ARCADIS will provide will be in a phased approach. The initial study and report phase will include activities such as data collection, geotechnical investigation and hydraulic modeling. Subsequent phases will focus on design and execution which involve activities from construction plans, cost estimates, public involvement and construction administration.

A Geographic Information System (GIS) based transportation asset inventory and reporting project will also be conducted as a service extension for the City. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 34, or GASB 34, that established financial reporting standards for state, local and special-purpose governments. Although cities are not required to use GASB 34, it has been adopted by Florida as a generally accepted accounting principle.

To comply with GASB 34 standards, the City must list all capital assets including infrastructure, estimated historical cost, and account for depreciation. To update the City’s information, the ARCADIS GIS team is taking existing information to develop an updated asset inventory. This process is a forward-thinking use of GIS. 

Many state and local governments have discovered that GASB 34 cannot be implemented successfully with finance and accounting solutions alone. Input on infrastructure is needed from GIS, engineering, maintenance and operations personnel to accomplish the task.

“As citizens and as a business in West Palm Beach we have a vested interest in this project. We are excited to provide our expertise to assist the City in upgrading their infrastructure,” said Thomas Jensen, P.E. business practice manager.  

ARCADIS is an international company providing consultancy, engineering and management services in infrastructure, environment and facilities, to enhance mobility, sustainability and quality of life. ARCADIS develops, designs, implements, maintains and operates projects for companies and governments. With more than 11,000 employees and over $1.7 billion in gross revenue, the company has an extensive international network that is supported by strong local market positions.