- Maasvlakte
The Maasvlakte is part of the
harbour and industrial area of the city ofRotterdam , theNetherlands . It was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from theNorth Sea through dykes andsand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea and the Lake of Oostvoorne. This lake was created by the construction of the Maasvlakte.Fossils were (and can still be) found in the sand. The Maasvlakte is also the starting point of theBetuweroute freight railway.Before the completion of the Maasvlakte it was a sandbank which was hazardous to shipping.
The Maasvlakte features various big companies and some smaller ones. Maersk, ECT and Euromax are three big terminals located here. They can all accommodate the world's largest ships. A powerplant is also located in the area, by the E-on company.
A special section has been reserved for big distribution centres, the Rotterdam Distribution Centre. The biggest are by the Reebok, DHL and Kloosterboer companies. The Reebok Distribution Centre takes care of the distribution of shoes and apparel for entire Europe. Kloosterboer stores mostly fries from the nearby Farm Frites company.
Also a big office of the Dutch Customs is on the Maasvlakte. This is a special office as it incorporates a special X-Ray container scan.
The connections on the Maasvlakte are excellent. There are direct train lines with entire Europe, mostly Germany. Also the rivers Rhine and Maas enter the sea next to it. This creates excellent connections using smaller river ships. The highway A15 which runs right into Germany ends on the Maasvlakte as well. Because of these factors this area is very interesting for companies.
On one side of the Maasvlakte is the Slufter. Inside the Slufter, a very deep pit shielded from the surrounding areas, toxic waste and polluted sand is stored. When it is filled it will be covered and left there. It was expected to be fully filled around the year 2000, but by now it is only about 50% filled.
Maasvlakte will be extended with Maasvlakte 2 in the next years. Maasvlakte 2 will cover 1000 hectares net of industrial sites, located directly on deep water.
External links
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**Google map of the Maasvlakte [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=nl&geocode=&q=maasvlakte&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.494074,81.738281&ie=UTF8&ll=51.947651,4.044685&spn=0.107925,0.31929&z=12&om=1]
** [http://www.maasvlakte2.com/en/project/maasvlakte_2/index.jsp Maasvlakte 2 web site]
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