The Port of Rotterdam Authority has signed a letter of intent with stevedores Seabrex and Kloosterboer to expand and develop the handling of containerised fruit shipments.
The authority said the agreement will help to guide investment, logistics and long-term commercial contracts.
Most fruit shipments through Rotterdam-more than one million metric tonnes annually-are concentrated at Fruitport, in Merwehaven on the north bank. The authority said it hopes to reach agreement with the stevedores regarding a new location for Fruitport within the coming year.
Kloosterboer took a 50 percent stake in Seabrex. The authority said the companies would become the pivot of a new Fruitport, supplemented with a variety of related commercial activity.
The authority said Merwehaven's capacity to cope with containerised fruit shipments is limited. Plans for substantial investment call for Fruitport to be relocated to the port's south bank, to accommodate more containers, with connections to short-sea and inland shipping, and rail.
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