After the summer, the consortium Hakkers, Van Oord and De Klerk will start construction of the tugboat quay in the Yangtzekanaal, as the contracts were signed with the Port of Rotterdam Authority yesterday, 19 June.
The tugboat quay involves 500 metres of quay wall, offering twelve berths and its construction is part of the ‘Widening Yangtzekanaal’ programme with the completion scheduled for spring 2025.
The selection of this partnership is consistent with the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s commitment to long-term port development. Hakkers, Van Oord, and De Klerk are making the building site more sustainable by employing electric equipment, which reduces CO2 emissions significantly.
In addition, the tugboat quay will be built in the first section of the Yangtzekanaal. This involves widening the navigation path of the Yangtzekanaal on the south side over a length of 500 metres.
The largest container ships use the Yangtzekanaal to sail to and from the APMT 2 and RWG terminals in the Prinses Amaliahaven. The Port Authority is constructing additional 2,400 meters of quay wall for container ships in this section of the port. The Yangtzekanaal will see a large increase in traffic as a result of this.
The Port Authority aims to enlarge the Yangtzekanaal by 1,400 meters to the west of the current Antarctica quay by 2030, by building a quay wall with waiting berths for inland cargo.
Following dredging work to enhance the depth, additional space will be created to guarantee that the Yangtzekanaal, and therefore access to Maasvlakte 2, is ready for the yet-to-be-developed current generation of container ships spanning 430 metres by 66.50 metres.