Maasvlakte 2 planners anticipate huge container volume growth

ROTTERDAM – Dutch freight forwarders are taking steps to avoid congestion at the Rotterdam port, where the new Maasvlakte 2 facility is being developed next to Maasvlakte 1, a large spread built in the 1980s which abuts the Dutch North Sea coastline. To avoid congestion, the port’s container handlers want the units distributed from inland terminals which are closer to the destination of the goods. Many towns along the waterways and at strategic highway and railway intersections have developed container terminals or plan to build them to tap into the explosive growth of container volume. Maasvlakte 2 planners prefer the rail and barge forwarding options as more efficient and environment-friendly. Nijmegen river-port based BCTN boss Rien Geurts anticipates his terminal to benefit greatly from the Maasvlakte 2 addition foreseeing the need for a doubling of its capacity. Although Geurts expects a shift towards barge transportation, he also foresees a significant growth in container road traffic. The growing importance of Rotterdam as a port is underlined as well by the addition of a new dedicated freight railway service between the Polish industrial city of Poznan and Rotterdam. The link will start with a 20-railcar-three-times-a-week schedule.