EU bank grants loan to Rotterdam Port
The European Investment Bank (EIB) granted a 100-million-euro (126-million-U.S.-dollar) loan to the Rotterdam Port Authority on Wednesday, for the construction of a barge feeder terminal and expansion of a container terminal at the western end of the port area. The contract was signed on Wednesday in Brussels by EIB President Philippe Maystadt and Rotterdam Port Authority officials. Maystadt said that the project, named Delta 2000-8, will further increase the container handling capacity of the Rotterdam port, Europe's biggest cargo and container port. "As the financing institution of the EU, the EIB is supporting this port expansion project because it will enlarge the trans-European network of sea ports," he said at the signing ceremony. The container terminal expansion, in the west of the Maasvlakte area, will cover an area of 60 hectares. The barge feeder terminal will comprise 800 meters of new quay. The construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010. The Rotterdam Port Authority said that the Delta terminal will be equipped with fully automated infrastructure, which will be one of the most advanced in the world.