Foreign bodies
Space to expand, government backing and support from terminal operators – sounds like any port authoritys dream. But Rotterdam has never been one for dreaming. Heres a port that has always been one step ahead of the game. In the 1950s growing ship calls prompted the construction of Botlek and Eemhaven,followed by deep-draught Europoort in the 1960s and reclaimed Maasvlakte in the 1970s.Now the authority has received the all-important parliamentary approval for Maasvlakte 2, the answer to todays capacity crunch.
A decade in the making, the mammoth Maasvlakte 2 project will transform 1,000ha of industrial sites extending from the city to the North Sea, increasing the current port and industrial area by 20% and trebling container handling capacity. And the extra space, as with so many other European ports is sorely needed: container throughput at Rotterdam increased by 16% in 2004 and by 13% in 2005, to 9.3m teu.
But it’s no quick fix. If construction starts on schedule in 2008, it will be 2030 before the project is completely finished.Of course, the first port sites will be available much earlier and as things currently stand the first container terminal will be able to open its doors in roughly eight years.
Already, APM Terminals has been confirmed as an operator for one of the container terminals and there is an open tender process in progress for another 138-hectare container terminal, where five consortia of shipping companies and stevedores are in the running. What’s critical about this project is that companies eligible to set up business in Maasvlakte 2 will have an active say in the layout of the sites. And all the big names want to be involved. Fifteen operators, including global terminal operators and deep-sea shipping lines, all of whom handled more than 2m teu in 2004, came running in response to an international tender issued by the authority.
But as operators flock to the Maasvlakte 2 roadshow, other ports with the potential for growth are struggling.Take Japan: once a familiar face in the global port rankings, its ports industry has been neglected and needs a shot of adrenalin to get it back on its feet.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Taiwan has rested on its laurels for too long, with a recently unveiled five-year plan to make its ports competitive too little, too late. These once-powerful Asian operators could learn much from the Dutch approach. Inviting outsiders to play a keen role in the development of a port, could work in the favour of both parties.
Both Taiwan and Japan have been reticent in the past in opening the doors to foreign operators, a strategy that has no doubt played a part in their gradual decline. These operators know the port business around the world. They know what works and, importantly, what doesn’t work. If these Asian ports are serious about regaining their once glorious pasts, take a leaf out of the Dutch book – nurture, don’t neglect foreign expertise.
Carly Fields
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