New Terminal for Rotterdam

At a signing ceremony in Rotterdam, port officials and members of a consortium endorsed an agreement covering building the superstructure, equipping and operating the new terminal at the Maasvlakte 2 development.

Signing for the port was Hans Smits, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. Representatives of the consortium partners, DP World, APL, Mitsui OSK Lines, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and CMA-CGM, were also present for the signing.

“The new Maasvlakte 2 provides a high quality site,” said Smits. “Such new terminal locations are very scarce in Europe and this will be even more the case in the next decades.”

The agreement calls for partners to be able to fill the new terminal, deliver both financially and operationally, while optimizing hinterland connectivity as part of the effort to reduce environmental impact of container traffic, Smits continued.

The agreement for the operation of the terminal was originally announced on July 12, 2007. The terminal will have a 1,900 meter (1.18 mile) deep-sea quay with a depth of 20 meters (65.6 feet). Capacity will be an estimated 4 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).

The terminal will be phased into operation from 2013.