Container terminal on Maasvlakte 2 goes to broad consortium
The first container terminal to go into operation on Maasvlakte 2 will be run by a consortium consisting of terminal operator DP World and four shipping companies: New World Alliance (MOL, Hyundai and Neptune Orient Lines/APL) and CMA CGM. This ‘Rotterdam World Gateway’ consortium submitted the best proposal. The terminal will have a capacity of around 4 million TEU (standard size for containers) and will be operational in 2013. Port Authority CEO, Hans Smits: “Several factors were weighed up in the process, from finance to sustainability. We have achieved an excellent result with this method of inviting proposals. We are extremely pleased with this winner.”
In 2005, the Port of Rotterdam Authority launched an open assessment procedure for operating the first container terminal to open on Maasvlakte 2. Fourteen shipping and stevedoring companies applied for the 156-ha terminal. Consortia were formed quickly, enabling parties to make a better (joint) offer. The consortium ‘Rotterdam World Gateway’, comprising DP World (Dubai), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) (Japan), Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) (Korea), APL (Singapore) and CMA CGM (France) put forward the best plan.
The terminal will have a 1900-metre long deepsea quay with a depth of 20 metres, a 550-metre quay for inland shipping and feeder vessels and its own rail terminal with a connection to the Betuweroute. It will have a capacity of some 4 million TEU. The terminal will be phased into operation, from 2013 onwards. Shortly thereafter, APM Terminals, who acquired a (future) site last year, will also start operating. In total, around 40% of Maasvlakte 2 has already been allocated, although it will be six years before the first site comes into use. This underlines the strategic value that global logistics service providers attach to Rotterdam.
The Port Authority used four criteria when assessing the offers: finance, strategy & marketing, technical and sustainability. The Port Authority is particularly pleased with the results of the open assessment procedure with respect to sustainability. Hans Smits: “When it comes to both air pollution caused by the terminal and the modal split we have agreements in black and white which, as far as we know, go further than any other European terminal. The new port area will therefore be truly sustainable. Without an assessment procedure in which consortia know that they are competing with eachother for a highly coveted terminal, it is much more difficult to agree on both a good price and sustainable operations.” Aspects of sustainability include the ’modal split’ (relationship between rail, inland shipping and truck in hinterland transport), emissions from the terminal itself and the vision of sustainable enterprise.
Financially, the bids were assessed in terms of volume guarantees, in addition to the usual revenues from ground rent and harbour dues. This provides the Port Authority with returns which are in line with the business case for Maasvlakte 2. Strategy & marketing involved looking at the position Rotterdam will take up in the network of consortia and the degree to which the terminal will attract cargo that is new to Rotterdam. In the technical field, it was a question of the efficiency of operations and the quality of the terminal.
At the end of this year, the Port Authority expects to be able to announce which consortium of contractors will be building Maasvlakte 2. The land reclamation will cost in total around € 3 billion. At the moment, various licensing procedures are under way. Construction is set to start in mid 2008. Until the first container is loaded/unloaded on Maasvlakte 2 in 2013, the container sector can continue to grow in the existing port area. Next year, for example, the Euromax terminal will become operational, with a total capacity in the region of 3 million TEU. A combination of the shipping companies Cosco, ‘K’-Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin are participating in this terminal.
Dubai-based DP World took over P&O Ports in 2006, thereby securing a position for itself as the third largest independent global terminal operator. The four shipping companies are all among the top global operators in container shipping. APL, HMM and MOL work closely together in ’The New World Alliance’, whilst CMA CGM operates both independently and with partners on specific trades.
In 2005, the Port of Rotterdam Authority launched an open assessment procedure for operating the first container terminal to open on Maasvlakte 2. Fourteen shipping and stevedoring companies applied for the 156-ha terminal. Consortia were formed quickly, enabling parties to make a better (joint) offer. The consortium ‘Rotterdam World Gateway’, comprising DP World (Dubai), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) (Japan), Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) (Korea), APL (Singapore) and CMA CGM (France) put forward the best plan.
The terminal will have a 1900-metre long deepsea quay with a depth of 20 metres, a 550-metre quay for inland shipping and feeder vessels and its own rail terminal with a connection to the Betuweroute. It will have a capacity of some 4 million TEU. The terminal will be phased into operation, from 2013 onwards. Shortly thereafter, APM Terminals, who acquired a (future) site last year, will also start operating. In total, around 40% of Maasvlakte 2 has already been allocated, although it will be six years before the first site comes into use. This underlines the strategic value that global logistics service providers attach to Rotterdam.
The Port Authority used four criteria when assessing the offers: finance, strategy & marketing, technical and sustainability. The Port Authority is particularly pleased with the results of the open assessment procedure with respect to sustainability. Hans Smits: “When it comes to both air pollution caused by the terminal and the modal split we have agreements in black and white which, as far as we know, go further than any other European terminal. The new port area will therefore be truly sustainable. Without an assessment procedure in which consortia know that they are competing with eachother for a highly coveted terminal, it is much more difficult to agree on both a good price and sustainable operations.” Aspects of sustainability include the ’modal split’ (relationship between rail, inland shipping and truck in hinterland transport), emissions from the terminal itself and the vision of sustainable enterprise.
Financially, the bids were assessed in terms of volume guarantees, in addition to the usual revenues from ground rent and harbour dues. This provides the Port Authority with returns which are in line with the business case for Maasvlakte 2. Strategy & marketing involved looking at the position Rotterdam will take up in the network of consortia and the degree to which the terminal will attract cargo that is new to Rotterdam. In the technical field, it was a question of the efficiency of operations and the quality of the terminal.
At the end of this year, the Port Authority expects to be able to announce which consortium of contractors will be building Maasvlakte 2. The land reclamation will cost in total around € 3 billion. At the moment, various licensing procedures are under way. Construction is set to start in mid 2008. Until the first container is loaded/unloaded on Maasvlakte 2 in 2013, the container sector can continue to grow in the existing port area. Next year, for example, the Euromax terminal will become operational, with a total capacity in the region of 3 million TEU. A combination of the shipping companies Cosco, ‘K’-Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin are participating in this terminal.
Dubai-based DP World took over P&O Ports in 2006, thereby securing a position for itself as the third largest independent global terminal operator. The four shipping companies are all among the top global operators in container shipping. APL, HMM and MOL work closely together in ’The New World Alliance’, whilst CMA CGM operates both independently and with partners on specific trades.