Nedcargo's distribution centre in Alphen aan de Rijn is definitely off the hook. The logistics service provider is said to have failed - after months of haggling - to come to an agreement with the municipality.
Nedcargo had planned to build a distribution centre next to container port 'Alpherium' at Steekterpoort industrial estate. A new logistics centre next to the port would encourage waterborne transport. Nedcargo expected to save up to 10,000 truck trips a year by doing so.
'Irreconcilable' difference
However, the logistics service provider was not willing to pay the requested land price of 199 euro per square metre. Nedcargo wanted to pay a maximum of 160 euros per square metre for the six-hectare plot. According to the municipal executive, the difference was "unbridgeable". There would be logistics companies willing to pay the requested rent. "There are two big companies candidate who are in the Rotterdam port area and other places in the country as well. They do find the price Alphen is asking acceptable. Other locations in the Netherlands ask for more money," councillor Gerard van As told Leidsch Dagblad.
Arrival of distribution centre uncertain for some time
Nedcargo's planned distribution centre had been causing unrest in the municipality for some time. In 2016, when Nedcargo announced the plans for the new DC, residents objected. They feared inconvenience from the works. The municipal council nevertheless gave permission for the construction of the 60,000-square-metre building.
When the customer for whom the distribution centre was intended dropped out at the beginning of this year, the agreement between Nedcargo and the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn was also called into question. The municipality then made Nedcargo a new offer to buy the land, but this did not lead to an agreement.
