Rotterdam continues partnership

(Posted on 07/09/20)

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Deal Drecht Cities will be extending their current partnership for another four years, until 2023. Danny Levenswaard, Director Breakbulk at the Port of Rotterdam Authority, and Martin Bloem, Director of Deal Drecht Cities, recently met to sign a new agreement regarding the continuation of their organisations’ joint economic promotion and acquisition activities on behalf of the Drechtsteden region. The renewed partnership is intended to facilitate businesses wishing to set up in areas like Dordrecht Inland Seaport, with a strong focus on companies working in the maritime and logistics sectors.

The port of Dordrecht is part of the Westelijke Dordtse Oever area. It borders the confluence of the Oude Maas and Dordtse Kil, close to the port of Rotterdam. Dordrecht Inland Seaport is the most landward sea port in the Netherlands. Including its port basins, the port covers an area of 290 ha. Thanks to its strategic situation on deep water, Dordrecht Inland Seaport is particularly well suited for the handling of dry bulk, liquid bulk and breakbulk. It is surrounded by the major petrochemical and chemical clusters of Rotterdam and Moerdijk and lies on the intersection of various ocean shipping, inland shipping, road and rail connections. In addition to focussing on Dordrecht Inland Seaport, the partners will also be conferring to identify other promising opportunities in the Drechtsteden region.

The partnership between the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Deal Drecht Cities kicked off in 2016. So far, it has been to both parties’ satisfaction – which is why they didn’t hesitate to extend it by another four years. In the most recent period, the partners concerned themselves with developing free plots and area development – with their short lines of communication frequently proving an invaluable asset . In the years ahead, they will be focussing on opportunities in areas that are still being developed, or that can be developed further, in line with the strategy drawn up for Dordrecht Inland Seaport. In this undertaking, the key word is ‘future-proof’: with the partners specifically focussing on sustainable and innovative developments.

Martin Bloem (Deal Drecht Cities): ‘Another four-year term of targeted collaboration will allow us to build on the fine results we have achieved so far. The preceding period has resulted in Nippon Gases locating in the region, as well as the development of a major, 11-ha logistics centre by Goodman in Alblasserdam. We have a forward-looking approach, in which we concentrate on promising sustainable investments and companies that offer innovative solutions.’

Danny Levenswaard (HBR): ‘The partnership between Deal Drecht Cities and the Port of Rotterdam Authority has laid a broad foundation for attracting potential clients and activities to the Dordrecht Inland Seaport area and the surrounding region. By joining strengths and jointly focussing on the development of this area, we have been able to achieve some fine results over the past few years. I am pleased that we will be continuing our partnership in the years ahead.’

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has borne responsibility for the operation and development of Dordrecht’s port area since 2013. In recent years, the Port Authority and Dordrecht’s municipal administration have worked together with the private sector to develop Dordrecht Inland Seaport into an attractive port for maritime manufacturing, logistics and bulk handling. In 2016, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Deal Drecht Cities entered into a partnership aimed at marketing Dordrecht Inland Seaport.

Deal Drecht Cities handles economic acquisition and promotion on behalf of seven cities and towns in the Drechtsteden region: Alblasserdam, Dordrecht, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Papendrecht, Sliedrecht and Zwijndrecht. Together with the local Economic Development Board (EDB), Deal stands for a successful and enterprising region. Deal follows an active promotion policy and works to draw new businesses in the maritime sector and smart industry to the region. Investors’ demands serve as a point of departure for its acquisition activities, and Deal strives to raise the region’s profile among the relevant Dutch and international target audiences through targeted promotion activities. The EDB concerns itself with the region’s longer-term development. Deal is an independent, mainly publicly funded foundation set up in 2014. In addition to the seven Drechtsteden, its members include the Port of Rotterdam Authority and ROM-D.