Europoort (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Europoort (English: Eurogate, also “Europort”) is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at Southside of the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is one of the world’s busiest ports and considered a major entry to Europe. The port handled 12 million containers in 2015.

Europort (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Industry in Rotterdam Europoort, The Netherlands

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Europoort (Rotterdam, Niederlande)

Europoort (Rotterdam, Países Bajos)

Beneluxhaven in Rotterdam Europoort, Nederland — Beneluxhaven in Rotterdam Europoort, The Netherlands

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In the 1970s the port was extended into the sea at the south side of the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg by completion of the Maasvlakte (Meuse-plain), a large land reclamation area with many refineries and storage tanks. This project was called Europoort, literally the “Gate to Europe”. The Maasvlakte 2 project is extending Europoort even further seaward, but the UK-Netherlands border is set equidistantly from the IJmuiden harbour coast line and remains unaffected by the expansion.

The most important factor contributing to the large amount of cargo shipping in and out of Europort is the presence of the Maas (Meuse) and Rhine rivers. Through these rivers, Europoort is connected to the Ruhr Area in Germany as well as Switzerland, Belgium and France. Furthermore, Europoort is connected to its rival, the port of Antwerp by the Scheldt–Rhine Canal. Adding to its transit-function, Rotterdam is connected to Germany by the A15 highway and a railway-network. In 2007, an extra railway connection (the Betuweroute) was completed to create an extra connection to the Ruhr area.