Dutchman recreates Noah’s Ark

By Han Yoon-ji

A dark dream about doomsday has propelled Netherlands' Johan Huibers, 52, to build a massive vessel to biblical proportions.

Huibers, the head of a construction company in the Dutch town Dordrecht, is expected to complete recreating his Noah's Ark in August. Although the stupefyingly ambitious project has cost three years and $1.6 million, the 60-year old declares that the project is a dream come true―literally.

“I dreamed that a part of Holland was flooded. The next day, I get the idea to build the ark,” described Huibers.

“Johan's Ark” has been carefully built according to the specifications outlined in the Book of Genesis. It is 150m long and 25m wide, weighing in at a whopping 3,000 tons, while its four-story structure is constructed of Swedish pine, which is in keeping with God's command that Noah build the ark out of resin wood.

A total of 1,600 plastic animals, along with a few live chickens, inhabit the vessel. Huibers plans on making the ark accommodating humans as well: Bedrooms, conference rooms and restaurants have been included to lodge up to 1,500 people.

In 2007, Huibers built a smaller version of his vessel and opened it as a tourist attraction, alluring more than 600,000 international visitors in three years alone.

Unfortunately, for the Netherlands, which has been hit by several severe floods in its history, Huibers' prophetic dream may be imminent after all. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore suggested in his documentary “The Inconvenient Truth” that the Netherlands will disappear from the map if the ice on Greenland melts.

Despite this, Huibers states that his gigantic craft is soon ready to set sail. In fact, he is currently negotiating with London officials to sail the ship up the Thames for the 2013 Summer Olympics.

The writer is a Korea Times intern. / yoonjh@student.cis.edu.hk