The Netherlands: New Centre for Project Cargo in Waalhaven

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Broekman Group intend renovating and redesigning the eastern section of the RDM site in the Waalhaven.

This will involve the drastic renewal and considerable expansion of the current ‘Heavy Lift Centre’ for the storage and handling of heavy and bulky freight from the energy and offshore industry sector, project cargo. The Port Authority is investing more than €15 million in the project. The work on the centre for heavy cargo has already started with the demolition of some dilapidated sheds, and will continue until the third quarter of 2014.

The Broekman Group hopes that the virtually new centre will meet the growing demand from the energy sector for storage and handling of heavy objects in well-equipped sheds with modern overhead cranes. Covered assembly space will also soon be available which will give added value to the activities. The space for outside storage will be enlarged for the sizeable objects, for instance for the offshore sector. It will also have a more efficient layout, new heavy foundations and paving.

Facilities

The ‘Heavy Lift Centre’ will soon comprise

• four modernised high halls with a total of around 16,000 m2 of space and overhead cranes with a lifting capacity of 75 to 700 tonnes.
• an outside space of around 26,000 m2.
• a 300-metre quay with a draught of 10.5 metres at which cargo items of up to 1,800 tonnes can be handled.
• sheds of 4,000 m2 directly on the quay.

Market leader

During the past years, businesses and the Port Authority already invested around €100 million in new terminals and improvements to existing facilities for breakbulk: steel, iron, paper, metals, fruit, project cargo and roll on/roll off cargo. As market leader, the port of Rotterdam handled 25 million tonnes in this sector in 2011. In Northwestern Europe, Antwerp was next with 17 million tonnes, and then Zeebrugge with 14 million tonnes.