- Plans to expand the Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam have been put on hold indefinitely.
- APMT had the authorization to develop the site since it began operating it in 2015.
Capacity fears as APMT shelves Maasvlakte II expansion due to rising costs, reports THE LOADSTAR.
Maasvlakte II
Plans to expand the Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam have now been put on hold indefinitely.
Sources claim that operator AP Møller-Maersk Terminals (APMT) has agreed not to push ahead with its plans.
The ultimate decision on doubling Maasvlakte II’s capacity was anticipated in June. With the expansion now in question, skepticism has emerged over long-term capacity cases.
Pertaining problems
The shippers on both deepsea and inland trades have battled with uncertainties and congestion over the past 18 months. Mr. Ginckels and others had put them down to the ports sector failing to predict and adapt to put up the influx of ULCVs.
Addressing the issue, Mr. Ginckels said, “We are seeing ships built like never before, but this doesn’t mean ports have the infrastructure to accommodate these bigger vessels.
They can handle more containers, but the ports were simply not built for such big ships, and without changes to the infrastructure they will get caught in bottlenecks because berth capacity is way less than these ships require.”
Expansion and expectations
APMT has had authorisation to expand the site since it began operating it in 2015, and last year Hochtief, Ballast Nedam and Van Oord were leased for the work.
The capacity has doubled from 2.7m teu to 5.4m teu. Now, with the surging steel prices, it is indicated that the costs have risen by millions.
Suggestions
A source inferred that the decision would be well-received by carriers as they had exhibited that they can earn profit from capacity disruption.
Gunther Ginckels said that the decision to defer the expansion was an economic move. Labour and materials expenses have been pushed way beyond expectations, and hurrying ahead with the expansion would have taken the project way beyond budget.
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Source: THE LOADSTAR
