Maasvlakte

Situated in the municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Maasvlakte is built on land reclaimed from the North Sea.

The Maasvlakte was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the North Sea through dykes and sand suppletion.

In 1989 Frans Swarttouw started building a deep water terminal at the Amazonhaven which, in 1990, was sold to EMO.

[6] Inside the Slufter, a very deep pit shielded from the surrounding area, toxic waste and polluted sand is stored.

The area was formerly used for recreational activities such as kite surfing, and the Slufterbeach nearby was also used as nude beach.

The Maasvlakte is also the starting point of the Betuweroute freight railway to Germany.

Maasvlakte 2 will cover 1000 hectares net of industrial sites, located directly on deep water.

[10] To accommodate larger container ships the Maasgeul, which is the channel in the North Sea providing deep-water access to the Rotterdam area, has to be widened to over 800 metres.