Construction of Maasvlakte 2 heading for the final sprint

The first lengths of rail will be laid on the new land of Maasvlakte 2 this week. The first trains should be running on the 12.3-km railway line in ten months’ time. But before it gets that far, all kinds of activities have to be completed and delivered. Everything comes together in the autumn of 2012. With a kind of domino effect each part has to be ready precisely on time to make the next step possible. Once the new seawall is ready at the end of 2012 and its road and rail systems have been laid, the new port entrance can be opened early in 2013 when the Yangtzehaven is dug through. The space to grow for deepsea-related activities that the port of Rotterdam needs will then be available on time.

Construction of Maasvlakte 2 started a good three years ago. Now most of the sand required for the construction of the first phase has been put where it is meant to be. The stage of large-scale spraying of sand from the sea is behind us. With more than 200 million cubic metres of sand in place, top priority of contractor PUMA (a joint venture of Boskalis and Van Oord) in the past twelve months was building the hard seawall close to the Maasmond. All construction flows were active simultaneously in 2011: it was one continual rush hour on Maasvlakte 2. Besides sand and rock being deposited, the first 500 metres of deepsea quay were delivered and dredged free. The first customer (Rotterdam World Gateway) gained access to its site. The new dunes were finished, roads and viaducts were constructed and work was done on the infrastructure for utilities. Construction of the railway and connection of the current Maasvlakte to Maasvlakte 2 also commenced, putting the project right on schedule. In July 2012 the gap in the sprayed sand dam will be closed, and at the start of 2013 the connection between the Yangtzehaven and the new port basins will be cut through.(portofrotterdam)

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