Partners sign up for new 4 million-TEU Rotterdam terminal

Partners sign up for new 4 million-TEU Rotterdam terminal A signing ceremony was held Monday between the Port of Rotterdam and the five-member consortium that will operate the first terminal in the Dutch port’s 16 million-TEU Maasvlakte 2 complex, scheduled for a 2013 start.

L-R: Hans Smits, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority; K'vork Hekimian, executive vice president of CMA CGM; Masakazu Yakushiji, MOL’s executive vice president; Yoo Chang Keun, Hyundai’s executive vice president; Ron Widdows, CEO of APL; Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, vice chairman of DP World.

   In July, the consortium — Dubai Ports World, CMA CGM and New World Alliance carriers MOL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and APL — were awarded the 25-year concession to equip and operate the 4 million-TEU and 156 hectares terminal, now called Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG).
   The terminal, which has an estimated total investment of 900 million euros ($1.25 billion), will have a 1,900-meter-long (6,234 feet) deep sea quay with a depth of 20 meters (65.6 feet), and a 550-meter (1,804 feet) quay for inland shipping and feeder vessels. It will also have its own rail terminal with a connection to the newly opened Betuweroute railroad into Germany’s hinterland.
   DP World will manage the RWG terminal for its partners once it is operational from 2013 onwards.
   “We are looking forward to working with our colleagues in the consortium and the Port of Rotterdam to building a world-class terminal operation,” said Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, vice chairman of DP World.
   Ron Widdows, chief executive officer of APL, said: “As APL and our partners bring larger ships into service, this facility will set new standards in delivering operational efficiency and environmental benefits. This will be our main hub in Europe.”
   Masakazu Yakushiji, MOL’s executive vice president, said: “The operation of this new terminal will do much to strengthen our position in Europe and is key to our expansion plans in this region.”
   Yoo Chang Keun, Hyundai’s executive vice president, head of liner division, said: “Rotterdam will be a very important main hub for the New World Alliance lines, CMA CGM and DP World and this is a new step towards forming a strategic alliance.”
   K'vork Hekimian, executive vice president of CMA CGM, described the terminal as “another step in our group’s strategic move toward the ports and terminals industry. We are sure the new terminal will set a new standard in handling the next generation of mega-ships we and our partners have on order.”
   In total, about 40 percent of Maasvlakte 2 has already been allocated and APM Terminals, part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, will move into its own 4.5 million-TEU terminal shortly after the RWG partners.