May 25 - At this week's Breakbulk Europe event, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Broekman Group announced their intention to renovate and redesign the eastern section of the RDM site in the Waalhaven.
This joint initiative will involve considerable renewal and expansion of the current 'Heavy Lift Centre (HLC)' for the storage and handling of heavy and bulky freight from the energy and offshore industry sector, as well as project cargo.
The port authority is investing more than EUR15 million (USD18.8 million) in the project. The work on the centre for heavy cargo has already started with the demolition of some dilapidated sheds, and will continue until the third quarter of 2014.
The Broekman Group hopes that the virtually new centre will meet the growing demand from the energy sector for storage and handling of heavy objects in sheds with modern overhead cranes. Covered assembly space will also soon be available which will give added value to the activities.
The space for outside storage will be enlarged for the sizeable objects, for instance for the offshore sector. It will also have a more efficient layout, new heavy foundations and paving.
The HLC will soon include four modernised high sheds with a total of around 16,000 sq m of space and overhead cranes with a lifting capacity of 75 to 700 tonnes; an outside space of around 26,000 sq m; a 300 m quay with a draught of 10.5 m at which cargo items of up to 1,800 tonnes can be handled; plus warehouses of 4,000 sq m alongside the quay.
In recent years, the port authority and number of businesses based there have already invested around EUR100 million in new terminals and improvements to existing facilities for breakbulk: steel, iron, paper, metals, fruit, project cargo and ro-ro cargoes.
Raymond Riemen, CEO of the Broekman Group, referred to the continuously growing position of the Port of Rotterdam as breakbulk port in general and in particular the important position that Broekman Project Services, as a member of the Group, occupies in handling heavy and bulky objects and project cargo.
Riemen also drew attention to the growing demand from the industrial sector for the possibility of assembling objects in a safe, clean and covered environment with direct connection to the water.
Jouke Schaap, director breakbulk of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, then discussed the stimulus that the redevelopment of the site gives the breakbulk sector and the Stadshaven area.
