Satellite image of Europoort, Netherlands (4

Maasvlakte, containeropslag foto1 2014-03-09 11

Toekomstbeeld Maasvlakte 2 2 G tcm81-32520

The Maasvlakte () is a massive man-made westward extension of the Europoort

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

and industrial facility within the Port of Rotterdam. Situated in the municipality of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

in the

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, the Maasvlakte is built on land reclaimed from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

Creation

Before the commencement of the Maasvlakte project, the region was a sandbank which was hazardous to shipping. The Maasvlakte was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the

through dykes and sand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea and the Lake of

Oostvoorne Oostvoorne is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westvoorne, and lies about north of Hellevoetsluis. In 2001, the town of Oostvoorne had 5,403 inhabitants, the built-up area of the town was , and ...

. This lake was created by the construction of the Maasvlakte.

Fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

were (and can still be) found in the sand. An expansion called "Second Maasvlakte" or Maasvlakte 2 was built between September 2008 and May 2013 by spraying sand on the bottom of the North Sea. This project extended the port of Rotterdam by about 2,000 hectares.Maasvlakte2 project-websit
Construction
visited: 24 April 2012

Sections

Bulk Handling

In 1973 EMO started as the first company at Maasvlakte. They are the biggest bulk terminal in western Europe and are located at the Mississippihaven. In 1989 Frans Swarttouw started building a deep water terminal at the Amazonhaven which, in 1990, was sold to EMO. Deep-water access to Rotterdam allows the world's largest ore carriers to visit Rotterdam.

Container terminals

The Maasvlakte features various big companies and some smaller ones.

Maersk (), also known simply as Maersk (), is a Danish shipping company, active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services, such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk was the largest container shipping line a ...

, Europe Container Terminals (ECT), which is a member of the Hutchison Port Holdings group, and Euromax are three big container terminals located here. They can all accommodate the world's largest ships. On the new Maasvlakte new container terminals will be built.

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

shipping group

has an existing terminal on the original Maasvlakte and will build a new terminal on the second Maasvlakte. With this new terminal Maersk will invest approximately €100 million.

Distribution centres

A special section has been reserved for large distribution centres: the Rotterdam Distribution Centre. The biggest are

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...

and Kloosterboer. The Reebok Distribution Centre takes care of the distribution of shoes and apparel for all of Europe. Kloosterboer stores mostly chips from the nearby Farm Frites company.

Slufter

On one side of the Maasvlakte is the Slufter. Inside the Slufter, a very deep pit shielded from the surrounding area, toxic waste and polluted sand is stored. When it is filled it will be covered and left there. It is expected to be fully filled around the year 2025; so far it is about half-full. The area was formerly used for recreational activities such as kite surfing, and the ''Slufterbeach'' nearby was also used as

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nudity, nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allow ...

. Since 2010 the road that ran around the Slufter has been closed to public traffic.

Power station

A power station located in the area is run by

Uniper Uniper SE �juːnipɚis an energy company based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name of the company is a portmanteau of "unique" and "performance" given by long-term employee Gregor Recke. Uniper was formed by the separation of E.ON's fossil fuel ...

. It is a coal-fired power station generating 1040 megawatts. It dates from 1988, but there are plans for a new plant on the same location.EON Website o
Maasvlakte powerstation
visited: 24 April 2012

Connections

There are direct rail links to elsewhere in Europe, especially Germany. The rivers

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and Maas enter the sea next to it. This creates good connections for rivergoing vessels. The A15 motorway, which runs into Germany, ends on the Maasvlakte. The Maasvlakte is also the starting point of the Betuweroute freight railway to Germany.

Maasvlakte 2

An extension, Maasvlakte 2, was begun in 2008. Maasvlakte 2 will cover 1000 hectares net of industrial sites, located directly on deep water. This new part of the Maasvlakte opened in 2013. To accommodate larger container ships the

Maasgeul The Eurogeul or Euromaasgeul is a channel dug in the North Sea in conjunction with the Port of Rotterdam. It has a length of 57 km and a depth of 23 meters. Use The Eurogeul is a so-called ''deep water route'' in the '' Traffic Separation Sc ...

, which is the channel in the North Sea providing deep-water access to the Rotterdam area, has to be widened to over 800 metres.Dredging Today
Dutch ministry expands Maasgeul
18 February 2012. Visited: 24 April 2012

References

External links

Maasvlakte 2Google Earth view of the Maasvlakte
{{Authority control Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Port of Rotterdam