Rotterdam’s Yangtzekanaal widening scheme has moved into its second phase, following completion of a new tugboat quay with 12 berths and shore power connections.
The first phase, delivered by the Hakkers, De Klerk and Van Oord consortium, involved widening the channel’s southern bank over 500 metres.
Phase two comprises the construction of a 1,450-metre quay wall, the Antarcticakade, providing twenty additional inland shipping berths alongside the 10 already in place.
A heavy-load zone is also planned for occasional transhipment of freight and specialist materials. Berths along the new quay will maintain a depth of NAP -6.80m, with shore power facilities included throughout.
Dredging works will remove 1.4 million cubic metres (m³) of sand from the channel bed to enable the widening and create the new berths.
The material will not go to waste: it is destined for land reclamation at Maasvlakte 2. Once complete, the works will allow two-way transit for container vessels of up to 24,000 TEUs.
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The upgrade responds directly to the expansion underway at the APMT 2 and RWG terminals in Prinses Amaliahaven, both served by the Yangtzekanaal and both currently scaling up capacity.
Port of Rotterdam Authority expects the additional throughput to bring higher vessel traffic to the channel, alongside continued growth in vessel size.
The navigable channel will be widened along its full length over the coming years to accommodate this, with the Authority stating the aim is to ensure safe and efficient access to Maasvlakte for the next generation of container ships, which have yet to be developed.
Around 10,000 m³ of geopolymer concrete will be used to construct the top section of the new quay wall.
The material contains no cement and cuts carbon emissions by roughly 50 per cent compared with conventional concrete, a figure that positions the project within the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s wider sustainability push for port infrastructure construction and maintenance.
The Authority currently maintains around 80 kilometres of quay walls and 200 kilometres of slopes across the port, with further investment earmarked for new-build and replacement quay walls in the coming years. Geopolymer concrete is expected to feature more prominently in future projects of this type, according to the Authority.
For more information:
Port of Rotterdam – https://www.portofrotterdam.com/
