1 february 2008, © Port of Rotterdam Authority

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and a bank consortium involving ING, Fortis and Rabo have entered into a funding agreement worth € 450 million. It is the third large loan the Port Authority has taken out within a month. Loans had previously been clinched with the European Investment Bank (€ 900 million) and the Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (€ 450 million). The money is earmarked for the construction of Maasvlakte 2 and infrastructure in Rotterdam’s existing port area. 

BNG, ING, Fortis and Rabo are also each providing € 50 million in working capital. The bank consortium is headed by ING. “These loans, totalling € 2 billion, will easily cover our borrowing requirement for the coming years, including the construction of Maasvlakte 2”, says financial director Thessa Menssen. 

Work will start on Maasvlakte 2 this autumn. The first terminals in the new 2000-hectare port and industrial complex will become operational in 2013. Total construction costs for Maasvlakte 2 are estimated at € 3 billion. Filling in part of the Hartel Canal and building the Euromax container terminal and the two LNG terminals on the Maasvlakte are other structural projects in which the Port Authority is engaged.

In total, the Port Authority, the government and trade & industry will be investing around € 12 billion in the port of Rotterdam in the coming five years.