NewsletterEdi t ion 1 - June 2013, Volume 9

1NEWSLETTER MAASVLAKTE 2

With a wave of her signalling flag, Minister

Schultz van Haegen opened Maasvlakte 2.

MAASVLAKTE 2 OPEN!On Wednesday 22 May 2013 the time had come:

Minister Schultz van Haegen (Infrastructure and the Environment)

officially opened Maasvlakte 2. A fleet of around 25 vessels,

from classic three-masters to a modern container ship, were

the first, with guests on board, to sail officially via the Yangtze-

kanaal to Maasvlakte 2. A 20-metre Ferris wheel and stands

gave the public a high vantage point for following the festive

opening.

“Today we are clearing the way for international shipping and trade. That’s typical of the Netherlands. That’s how we became big. With Maasvlakte 2, the Netherlands is throwing the door wide open to the newest generation of container ships, and we offer space for the latest terminals. The port is growing 20% larger and container capacity is doubling,” according to Minister Schultz van Haegen. Maasvlakte 2 became an integral part of the port area on 22 May. The area is now accessible by road, rail and water. The construction of

PRINCESSES FOR A DAY

the two container terminals of RWG and APMT is on schedule. They will be operational at the end of next year. The port now has 700 hectares more land for business sites. Another 300 hectares will be added to this in the second phase. Work is currently still underway to connect the infrastructure on Maasvlakte 2 to the existing port area as best as possible. This first phase of Maasvlakte 2 was constructed on schedule and well within the budget. The project turned out to be approx. € 150 million less expensive than estimated.

“We had a wonderful afternoon, and I would like to thank you again very warmly for the extraordinarily good organisation and the lovely pampering. We really were treated like princesses. On the way back, my grandson said to me: Grandma, we made history today. A golden day!” Margriet Wijker-van der Wilden.

Just for people with the same name as the princesses

Amalia, Alexia, Ariane and Margriet, VIP treatment was

provided with a cruise on the FutureLand Ferry in the

middle of the classic sailing ships through the new

ports which are named after the princesses.

2 NEWSLETTER MAASVLAKTE 2

MAASVLAKTE 2 OPEN!22 MAY 2013

Fireworks and ship horns marked the

festive moment.

3NEWSLETTER MAASVLAKTE 2

Binoculars were handed out to onlookers on the

quay so the naval pageant could be appreciated

even better.

The Ferris wheel, as high as the Yangtzekanaal is deep

(20 metres), gave the public a wonderful view of the

entire fleet.

The fleet of around 25

ships toured the ports of

Maasvlakte 2 after the

opening. Besides classic

three-masters and

Rotterdam Museum

ships, nautical service

providers, inland vessels

and the container ship

Maersk Tukang also

sailed.

Amateur artists on shore and on the water

recorded this historic moment, at the invitation

of Rotterdam art centre SKVR. The seven

Rotterdam Museum ships in the naval

pageant each took several creative people

on board.

4 NEWSLETTER MAASVLAKTE 2

COLUMN

WELCOME TO MAASVLAKTE 2

I have seldom followed the weather forecasts as closely as in the run up to 22 May. Would we be able to hold the festive opening of Maasvlakte 2 between the downpours and spring storms? State Harbour Master René de Vries delivered me from my concerns at around 7:30 on the morning of 22 May. No rain, and wind would die down! The rest is now history: it was a fantastic sailing trip for the whole of the port business community. The quay was full of enthusiastic people, and for those who felt the wind was still a little strong, FutureLand offered the opportu-nity to follow the events on a big screen. The ships sailing in, the flag-waving minister, the blue smoke: Maasvlakte 2 is open!

ROOM FOR GROWTHThe room for growth for the future has now been opened to shipping. But that still doesn’t make it a working port. Terminal operators APMT and RWG are the trailblazers setting to work on the fresh hectares. The first crane has been delivered, and many more will follow in the coming year. The two automated terminals will commence testing in 2014, after which both sites will be commis-sioned at the end of 2014. The contractor will also have completed the Coloradoviaduct by that time, so that the increas-ing traffic flows between the existing and new Maasvlakte can

cross each other safely on different levels. The security measures for the new railway will also have been installed by then, and the Prinses Margriethaven will have been set up for the nautical service providers.Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) will assess whether the Port Authority kept a good enough eye on the effects on nature and the environment in our construction activities. I am fully confident that our own investigations at sea and our analyses of them year after year will be useful in this matter. It is hugely important to us to fulfil the agreements made in the past, whether they were agreements with authorities, providers of permits, interest groups or environmental organisations. Agreed is agreed: that’s how we work here in Rotterdam.

WARM HEARTIt no longer amazes me that all those activities on Maasvlakte 2 will continue to attract the interest of the public in the future as well. Our information centre FutureLand already welcomed half a million interested people in the past four years. We are preparing ourselves for the fact that the information centre will continue to welcome crowds of people who love the port in the coming years as well. I am pleased to welcome you!

COLOPHON

PUBLISHED BY

Port of Rotterdam AuthorityProject Organization Maasvlakte 2

DESIGN

Port of Rotterdam Authority / FAC-FD

IMAGES

Freek van Arkel, Aeroview, Bart Maat, Roy Borghouts, Martin Zwaan

PRODUCTION AND FINISH

platform P, Rotterdam

CONTACT AND INFORMATION

T +31 (0)10 252 25 20E info@maasvlakte2.comW www.maasvlakte2.com Maasvlakte_2 FuturelandMaasvlakte2

This is the last Maasvlakte 2

newsletter. News about

Maasvlakte 2 will continue to be

published in thedigital newsletter

‘Port in Action’ of the

Port of Rotterdam Authority.

•••Subscribe via

portofrotterdam.com click under ‘News’ on

‘Newsletters’.

SUMMER AGENDA OF FUTURELAND

FutureLand will soon be welcoming its 500,000th visitor since it opened in 2009. Besides the normal visiting times, FutureLand will also have extra opening hours on Saturdays and a special art exhibition this summer. Of course, the FutureLand Express and the FutureLand Ferry will also be ready and waiting for you!

EXHIBITION29 June - 10 October: Art on MV2: overview of visual projects and works of art on the construction of Maasvlakte 2. Including work by HeHe, Dorothée Meyer, Marie-José Jongerius and Jan Konings.

THEME DAYS29 June: Art on MV2: talks on all art projects and exhibition opening6, 13, 20 July and 3 Aug: Saturday opening hours: 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.13 July: Cycling in the port: 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.27 July: Nature on MV2 with animal art project Fritz Haeg - bus excursion + evening opening; Lounging around in FutureLand: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.10/11, 17/18, 24/25 Aug: Demonstrations with the 6-metre flying pyramid of Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno. On these weekends, the opening hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.31 August: Lounging around in FutureLand: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.6, 7 and 8 September: World Port Days: bus excursion from the Kop van Zuid to FutureLand

Look at the entire programme at www.futureland.nl

René van der Plas, Director of Project Organization Maasvlakte 2