Existing Rotterdam Area (ERA) is part of the Rotterdam Mainport Development (PMR) project. ERA is a series of projects to achieve the following goals:

• make more effective use of the existing Rotterdam port area through "intensification projects"
• improve living quality in greater Rotterdam through "quality of life projects"  

Some projects have already been completed, others are still in progress. It will take until 2021 to complete the entire ERA programme.

Intensification projects
These projects will facilitate better use of existing port areas. The objective is to gain 200 ha of space by 2021 through redevelopment, land reclamation and/or intensified use of port-related functions. The additional space will be used to allocate new sites or to accommodate other port-related functions. The result will enable even better utilisation of the existing port, pending availability of the new space on Maasvlakte 2.

The plans include:

• 61 ha of extra land through soil projects and optimisations in the oil sector
• 41.5 ha of extra land through additional projects, particularly land fillings in Waal-Eemhaven area
• 7.5 ha of extra storage capacity through a fourth car deck at Broekman.  

By year-end 2006, 132 ha of the 200 ha had already been completed.

See an overview of the intensification projects on the PMR map (dutch only).

Quality of life projects
These projects seek to enhance living quality in the Rijnmond region. This will be achieved through the twin objectives of the Rotterdam Mainport Development Project: expand the port and enhance quality of life in the region.

The plans will:

• improve environmental quality
• create and enhance the quality of nature and recreational areas
• improve the spatial quality of greater Rotterdam  

Examples of quality of life projects are the measures taken to reduce the noise load caused by the Caland railway bridge, the erection of noise barriers along the A20 motorway and railway lines, the creation of small local parks on the banks of the River Maas and the rearrangement of the Rozenburg headland.

See an overview of the quality of life projects on the PMR map.