Maasvlakte

 seaport, industrial area

The Maasvlakte is part of the harbour and industrial area of the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the North Sea through dykes and sand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea or it was taken from the Lake of Oostvoorne. This lake was created by the construction of the Maasvlakte. Fossils were (and can still be) found in the sand. The Maasvlakte is also a starting point of the Betuweroute freight railway.

In former times it was a sandbank which was a hazard to shipping.

The Maasvlakte features various big companies and other smaller ones. Maersk, ECT and Euromax are three big terminals located here. They can all receive the world's biggest ships. A powerplant is also located in the area, by the E-on company.

A special section has been reserved for big distribution centres, the Rotterdam Distribution Centre. The biggest are by the Reebok, DHL and Kloosterboer companies. The Reebok Distribution Centre takes care of the distribution of shoes and apparel for entire Europe. Kloosterboer stores mostly fries from the nearby Farm Frites company.

Also a big office of the Dutch Customs is on the Maasvlakte. This is a special office as it incorporates a special X-Ray container scan.

The connections on the Maasvlakte are excellent. There are direct train lines with entire Europe, mostly Germany. Also the rivers Rhine and Maas enter the sea next to it. This creates excellent connections using smaller river ships. The highway A15 which runs right into Germany ends on the Maasvlakte as well. Because of these factors this area is very interesting for companies.

On one side of the Maasvlakte is the Slufter. Inside the Slufter, a very deep pit shielded from the surrounding areas, toxic waste and polluted sand is stored. When it is filled it will be covered and left there. It was expected to be fully filled around the year 2000, but by now it is only about 50% filled.

Maasvlakte will be extended with Maasvlakte 2 in the next years. Maasvlakte 2 will cover 1000 hectares net of industrial sites, located directly on deep water.

First comment: A large expansion of the Rotterdam Port on land reclaimed from the North Sea. Used for industry, container terminals and other harbour-related activities, there is also a beach here. Will be expanded during the next decade.