ROTTERDAM has officially opened the first phase of Europe's largest container terminal hub, Maasvlakte 2, which is expected to unleash a fierce battle for cargo
Rotterdam opens first phase of giant Maasvlakte 2 container hub
ROTTERDAM has officially opened the first phase of Europe's largest container terminal hub, Maasvlakte 2, which is expected to unleash a fierce battle for cargo across the Le Havre-Hamburg port range at a time of sluggish traffic growth.
The first phase was completed on schedule and came in EUR150 million (US$195 million) under its EUR1.7 billion budget, said Hans Smits, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. "From today, Maasvlakte 2 is an integral part of the port area ... accessible by road, rail and water," he said.
Speaking at the opening of the new facility to shipping, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, commented, "With Maasvlakte 2, the Netherlands is throwing the door wide open to the new generation of container ships. And we offer space for the latest terminals."
Maasvlakte 2 is built on land reclaimed from the North Sea and will become Europe's largest container hub by the end of 2014 when two privately owned terminals with a combined annual capacity of 8.5 million TEU are due to start operations.
APM Terminals will open the first terminal, with a capacity of 4.5 million TEU, followed by a four million TEU facility being built by a joint venture between DP World and four ocean carriers - MOL, CMA CGM, Hyundai Merchant Marine and APL.
The port is investing around $4.5 billion in Maasvlakte 2, which will also feature industrial and logistics parks, while the total private investment is put at some $20 billion.
