The Netherlands must spend nearly 2 billion euros (US$2.9 billion) annually in the coming decades to protect low-lying areas from coastal flooding, the Dutch government said on Wednesday.

With sea levels projected to climb as much as 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) this century and another 2 to 4 metres in the next, current flood and sea defences will not be enough to protect the country of 16 million people from surging tides, said the commission, led by former agriculture minister, Cees Veerman.