Rotterdam's Maasvlakte 2 port expansion is on track to open in 2014

THE construction of Maasvlakte 2 at the Port of Rotterdam is said to be on schedule with the first phase close to completion.

The next stage is to start the cut-through of the Yangtzehaven to enable APMT MVII to receive its first ship with crane parts in the spring of 2013.

The Yangtzehaven will be connected to the ports on Maasvlakte 2 shortly owing to the opening of the road and rail along the new seawall in October, opening up access via Maasvlakte 2 to the businesses of Euromax, MOT and GATE.

The temporary inland lake that was created on Maasvlakte 2 will disappear so that the new port will soon be accessible to the ships. These vessels will need to berth at the APM Terminals Maasvlakte II (AMPT MVII) and the Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) terminal in 2014.

As a future operator on Maasvlakte 2, APM Terminals Maasvlakte II (AMPT MVII) is making good progress on its new container terminal. The construction of the terminal is proceeding on schedule with the opening planned for November 2014, a statement from port authorities said.

With a quay wall depth of 20 metres and the highest deep sea cranes in the world, this terminal will soon be open for the arrival of the latest generation of 18,000-TEU container ships. The first phase of the terminal covers 86 hectares and has an annual capacity of 2.7 million TEU. The terminal can expand to 167 hectares with a capacity of 4.5 million TEU per year.

The construction of Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) is also on schedule. The site on the Amaliahaven is gaining more and more shape now that RWG started on the asphalting in the summer. It is anticipated that the terminal will be opened in the autumn of 2014. The first ship is expected to berth by the spring of 2014.

The terminal is building on a 108-hectare site and has a deep sea quay of 1,150 metres and 20 metres alongside. A 550-metre inland shipping quay has also been constructed. Eleven deep sea cranes and three cranes for inland vessels will be placed on these quays. Together with 50 stacking cranes and 60 AGVs (automatically guided vehicles that will move the containers around the site), this will ultimately deliver a capacity of 2.35 million TEU.