The infrastructure ministry will publish plans for a massive dyke strengthening problem when the government outlines its 2015 budget in September, according to current affairs show Nieuwsuur.

In order to protect the country against flooding, a 35-year project to raise and reinforce the dykes along the bigger rivers will be needed, the programme quotes ministry documents as saying.

While the current network of dykes is safe, it is not safe enough. Climate change and rising sea levels make billions of euros of investment imperative, the ministry believes.