With the press of a button, Mayor Ivo Opstelten set in motion the sand-spraying operation for Maasvlakte 2. This, in turn, was the starting signal for this expansion of the port of Rotterdam. “An historic day for our mainport. After 15 years of making plans, discussion and procedures, we are now making a start on this urgently needed port expansion”, says Opstelten. “Maasvlakte 2 is important for our economy and for our prosperity. But Maasvlakte 2 also symbolizes the vitality of Dutch logistics, industry and hydraulic engineering. These all come together in this project”, according to Hans Smits, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO.

The Port Authority will bear the costs and risks of building Maasvlakte 2. 40% of the space on Maasvlakte 2 has already been let to various container terminals. At the beginning of this year, a contract worth €1.1 billion was signed with dredgers Boskalis and Van Oord, to perform the first phase of the land reclamation. In total, the project will cost € 3 billion. The first ship is due to dock in the new harbor in 2013. The project will increase the port of Rotterdam by 20%.

All construction permits have been granted. Some objections have been lodged against two of these, but they have not lead to any new points of view.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority’s ambition is to make Maasvlakte 2 the most sustainable port area. As a consequence, it has, for instance, made far-reaching agreements with the companies planning to set up business there, particularly regarding the transport of more containers by rail and inland shipping and fewer by road. But the construction itself is also extremely responsible from the perspective of nature and the environment. In the coming years, the Port Authority will, for example, be keeping a keen eye on the impact the construction has on the ecosystem in the North Sea.

In recent years, a lot of energy has gone into research and the making of agreements between numerous authorities, interest groups and the Port Authority. It has been agreed with all ministries involved, the province, the municipality, the business community and four environmental organizations that, for the next 25 years, parties will jointly monitor the effects of Maasvlakte 2 on the environment, whether or not all agreements made are observed and if they perhaps require modification.

Maasvlakte 2 is part of the Rotterdam Mainport Development Project (PMR), the aim of which is to boost both the economy and the quality of life. At the same time as Maasvlakte 2, including ecological compensation, 750 hectares of new, extra space for nature will be created around Rotterdam and a series of projects will be implemented under the heading Existing Rotterdam Area, to enhance the quality of life and make more intensive use of the existing port.