Prime Minister Dick Schoof paid a working visit to the port of Rotterdam Current developments in international trade, the investment climate and resilience were the three themes at the centre of his working visit.
The prime minister discussed these issues at length with Boudewijn Siemons (Port of Rotterdam Authority) and Victor van der Chijs (Deltalinqs) during a boat trip through the westernmost part of the port.
The Maasvlakte is home to the major container terminals, the LNG terminal, the Porthos carbon storage project and a company that makes foundations for offshore wind turbines. The prime minister also had a look at the work of the boatmen. Their duties include berthing and unberthing seagoing vessels at the quay.
The second part of the visit focused on chemistry in the Botlek area. At the LyondellBasell site, the prime minister spoke with representatives of this company, representatives from the chemical cluster (Nobian and Uniper) and Annemarie Spierings, the program manager for the Rotterdam-Moerdijk industrial cluster.
The discussion included the interconnection between the companies, the transition of the industry, the investment climate and the role of chemistry for the strategic autonomy of the Netherlands and Europe.
For the (chemical) industry, Rotterdam is in itself a very favourable location, because of its location, infrastructure and the size and diversity of the complex. But in the short term, high energy costs in Europe, uncertainty about future policy and difficult permitting do not make things easier.
Those present had an open dialogue about these challenges. The prime minister was highly interested, including in the day-to-day work at the port. The companies involved greatly appreciated the fact that the prime minister took so much time familiarising himself with this during his working visit
Related : Port of Rotterdam : Depresses throughput in first quarter of 2025
Source : Press – Release
