Mainport Rotterdam
Description of the Port
Rotterdam is Europe’s largest logistic and industrial hub. The port is the gateway to a European market of 450 million consumers. More than 500 scheduled services link Rotterdam with over 1000 ports worldwide. Throughput in 2005 amounted to 370 million tonnes.
The port of Rotterdam is situated directly on the North Sea. The very largest ocean-going vessels have unrestricted access around the clock, seven days a week. The port has a depth of 24 metres (75 feet) and Rotterdam has no locks. The many maritime service providers guarantee rapid turnaround times.
The port and industrial area stretches over a length of 40 kilometres and covers 10,000 hectares. Companies can find all imaginable facilities here for cargo handling, distribution and industry. A lot of auxiliary services are also on hand. Rotterdam is, for example, Europe’s cheapest bunker port. Due to the size of the operations, the port offers significant advantages of scale.
The European market is accessible from Rotterdam via five competing modalities: road, rail, inland shipping, coastal shipping and pipeline. Goods which arrive in Rotterdam in a morning can be in, for example, Germany, Belgium, France or Great Britain the same afternoon. One of the main advantages of Rotterdam is its location on the estuary of the rivers Rhine and Maas. As a result, efficient and economical transport by inland vessel is possible deep into the heart of Europe.
The port of Rotterdam is investing all the time to expand and improve its service. The most high-profile project is the pending construction of Maasvlakte 2, a new port and industrial zone in the North Sea, providing 1000 hectares of industrial sites with direct access to deep waters.
Future & Developments
Port plan 2020
In 2020, Rotterdam will have a highly-competitive port. That is what the municipality of Rotterdam will be going for in the next 20 years. What this decision means in practice and what needs to be done to realize this aim has been laid down in the Port plan 2020. The six ‘targets’, six facets of Rotterdam Quality Port in 2020, are:
- a multi-faceted/comprehensive port
- a sustainable/innovative port
- a smart/intelligent port
- a fast/safe/secure port
- an attractive port
- a clean port
Maasvlakte 2
The port and industrial complex extends from the city to the North Sea and comprises some 5,000 hectares of industrial sites. However, any description of the port needs to be revised constantly. Driven by relentless demand from industry, the port has never stopped expanding since the end of World War II. Among the milestones are Botlek, which was constructed in the 1950s, followed by Europoort in the 1960s and Maasvlakte in the 1970s.
At the start of the 21st century, the port of Rotterdam has however once again reached its limits in terms of possibilities for physical growth. Hardly any plots are available in the existing port and industrial area to accommodate new companies or existing customers wishing to expand. Additional space is essential if Rotterdam wants to continue developing in a positive way.
For more information please visit www.portofrotterdam.com