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The outer contour to be constructed in one step

We have abandoned the idea of phased construction. Construction in one go will be better for the environment and save money, too," says Ronald Paul, the Project Director for Maasvlakte 2 at the Port of Rotterdam Authority, in an interview in ROM-Actief. His team is responsible for the construction and layout of 2,000 gross hectares of new area adjoining the existing Maasvlakte; around 1,000 hectares will be used for land allocation and around 1,000 for ports and roads. In making these plans, the Port of Rotterdam Authority has obviously done a great deal of preparation.

Hectares to be filled quickly
A majority of the Lower House supported this choice when the Key Physical Planning Decision (Planologische Kernbeslissing - PKB PMR) was discussed in October of last year. At first, it was thought that working in phases would be appropriate: filling in a small dyke first and then, when there be demand for more hectares, extending the seawall and enlarging the surface to be raised by hydraulic fill. But the market demand is so great that the Port Authority expects the hectares to be filled in quickly. "The outer contour will be completed by 2010," says Project Director Paul. "After that, we fill in the hectares depending on demand. We already know that the first 600 hectares of land will be allocated within the next ten years. After all, a site covering 167 hectares has already been allocated and a number of companies are in the race for another container terminal covering 143 hectares."

EIA for construction
"If you'd construct the outer contour in multiple phases," says Paul, "the main access roads, rails and mains services would have to be severed and displaced each time. This is another reason why construction in one go will cost less. And besides the economic and financial advantages obtained by this method, there's also an ecological advantage."

Read the entire interview here (Sorry, Dutch only)

Page updated at: 07-07-2009