Rotterdam is building a large food hub at the entrance to the Maasvlakte, with the sixty-hectare business park being specially designed to facilitate companies in the agri-food sector.
The Rotterdam Food Hub will be built on the Calandkanaal, at the entrance to the Maasvlakte. Agrofood is a growth market due to population growth and prosperity growth. In 2017, it was traded for almost 92 billion euros in the Netherlands. The Port of Rotterdam hosts 16 million tonnes of transhipment annually.
Speed crucial
"We are keen to further accommodate the growth of our agri-food customers," says Emile Hoogsteden, director of Containers, Breakbulk & Logistics at the Port of Rotterdam Authority. "The Rotterdam Food Hub offers the perfect opportunity for this: not only are the major deep-sea container terminals on the Maasvlakte a stone's throw away, but the Rotterdam Food Hub itself will also have access to several berths for ocean-going vessels specially equipped for refrigerated cargo."
The site will have berths for barges and warehouses will be located directly on the quays. As a result, refrigerated and frozen cargo can be quickly stored, processed or transported. Hoogsteden: "In agri-food, we work with perishables, so speed is crucial."
Talks with interested parties
Of the sixty hectares, about 45 hectares are available for issuance to companies. According to the Port Authority, talks with interested parties are already underway on 35 hectares. The first construction work will start in June. The site will be completed by the end of 2020.
