Sand will become land
The reclaimed land will emerge after the construction of a combination of hard and soft sea defences in the North Sea. Beach and dunes form the soft part of the sea defence, rubble or concrete blocks the hard sea wall. Inside these defences, the sites will subsequently be sprayed on. The sand for this will come from carefully selected locations at sea, but will also become available when the port itself is deepened. The land reclamation will measure around 2000 hectares in total. Half of this will consist of infrastructure, such as sea defences, fairways, railways, roads and port basins. The other 1000 hectares will provide the space for industrial sites.   

Length times width times depth 

Container throughput, distribution and the chemical industry will be given plenty of room on Maasvlakte 2. Not only in terms of surface area, but also depth. As it happens, Maasvlakte 2 will shortly be accessible for the container ships of the future. With a depth of 20 metres, the port is accessible for container ships which are unable to berth in other European ports. 

Due to the immediate location at and the open connection with the North Sea, Rotterdam is one of the most accessible ports in Europe. Therefore Maasvlakte 2 can be reached within one or two hours from the pilot station.

With the expansion of the current port by 20%, to 6000 hectares, the capacity for handling containers will be trebled. Perfect connections to the hinterland offer excellent opportunities for companies setting up business on Maasvlakte 2.     

Compensation to natural world
Nature will be lost with the construction of Maasvlakte 2. In order to limit the impact on the environment as much as possible, compensatory measures will be taken. This will be done in accordance with Dutch and European provisions. The Birds and Habitats Directive is paramount here. In this directive, the European Union states which areas must be protected so that the habitats of specific flora and fauna are conserved.
 
Maasvlakte 2 is part of the Rotterdam Mainport Development Project. This is a project that strengthens the mainport whilst, at the same time, improving the quality of life in the region.

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