Rotterdam: A consortium consisting of DP World and four shipping companies - Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), APL and CMA CGM - has been awarded the contract to equip and operate the Maasvlakte 2 container terminal at the Port of Rotterdam. Members of the consortium, called 'Rotterdam World Gateway', each hold a 20% share in the 4m teu terminal, slated to open in 2013.
"We are delighted to be part of the consortium that has been selected to equip and operate the very first terminal of the exciting and much needed Maasvlakte 2 development," said Mohammed Sharaf, DP World ceo. "Congestion is a very real issue in Europe and this will in be an important facility to help relieve the pressure for importers and exporters alike."
Rotterdam World Gateway mmbers MOL, Hyundai MM and APL are also members of The New World Alliance liner consortium, whose vessels will call at the terminal. HMM ceo Noh Jeong-Ik said, "Rotterdam will be a very important main hub for the TNWA Lines, CMA-CGM and DP World and this is a new cornerstone of forming a strategic alliance."
"As our key hub in Europe, the new terminal will help us deliver the speed, scale and flexibility now demanded by customers with increasingly complex supply chains," said Ronald Widdows, ceo of APL.
MOL president Masakazu Yakushiji said, "Rotterdam and the MV2 terminal is the key to our strategy for our future expansion plan in Europe."
The terminal will have a 1900mtr long deepsea quay with a depth of 20mtr and a 550mtr quay for inland shipping and feeder vessels. It will also feature its own rail terminal with a connection to the Betuweroute. Authorities at the port of Rotterdam are shortly to announce the results of the tender for construction of the project and work is set to start in mid-2008.
"We trust the future facility will set a new standard of container terminal designed to handle the next generation of mega ships we and our partners have on order," said Henri Archambeaud, manager for ports and systems engineering in CMA CGM's port operator Terminal Link. [12/07/07]
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