Rotterdam is the largest port in the world, handling over 250million tons of goods annually and providing employment for many thousands of people, with a hinterland of more than 160million people living within a radius of 500km/300mi. The city covers a total area of 247 sq.km/95 sq.mi, half of which is occupied by the port.
Europoort (the "Gateway to Europe") is the name given to the huge western port complex; the term Rijnmond is applied to the whole industrial area between Rotterdam and the coast, taking in a number of other towns.
Rotterdam's harbor was of no great consequence 150 years ago. Its importance began to increase after the construction of the Nieuwe Waterweg, but the real breakthrough came after the Second World War, when the port, with its open access to the sea, developed an increasing export and import trade. The existing port installations were no longer adequate for the increased traffic; and in addition ships were becoming bigger and the harbor was not deep enough.
It was decided, therefore, to extend the port. In 1947 the Botlek area, south of Maassluis, was developed, in 1957 the area southwest of the Nieuwe Waterweg.
The first tanker docked in November 1960. Every inch of land - including a unique nature reserve, was put to use. Warehouses and port installations mushroomed. The existing land area was not enough, and new land was created, extending for some kilometers into the North Sea, such as Maasvlakte, which was built up between the coast and a sandbank, using 170,000,000 cu.m/222,000,000 cu.yd of sand.
Near the Europoort is an area 15km/9mi long where tankers of up to 200,000 tons, with a draught of up to 23m/250ft (the height of an eight-story building), can dock.
There are different harbors for different kinds of goods. Rotterdam has the world's largest oil terminal (eight docks), handling over 110million tons of oil products annually. There are five oil refineries, connected by pipeline with Belgian and German refineries.
There are also terminals for packaged goods and for bulk goods including coal, mineral ores and grain. Rotterdam was one of the first ports in the world to cater for the cost-saving method of container transport, with facilities for the onward transport of containers by road or rail. Foodstuffs such as meat and fruit are stored in refrigerated warehouses. Some 85 per cent of Europe's supplies of citrus fruits, for example, are landed at Rotterdam.
The port has 40km/25mi of quays, with 1.5million sq.m/1.8million sq.yd of warehouses and 90,000 sq.m/108,000 sq.yd of refrigerated stores. The silos have a capacity of some 450,000 tons, and the warehouses for dry bulk goods a capacity of almost 19million tons. The storage tanks cover an area of over 32million sq.m/38million sq.yd.
About 70 per cent of all goods landed are immediately dispatched to ports in other countries; other goods are processed in the Netherlands, but most of them are also exported.
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