Port of Hamburg meets Brussels

On 14 April, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) organised an evening in Brussels to present future plans for its Central Terminal Steinwerder (CTS). This 125 hectare large area is located at the heart of the port of Hamburg and is planned to be redeveloped. To collect ideas for the future port area, HPA had organised a broad market consultation to which 35 companies from all over the world had participated.

HPA Chief Executive Jens Meier (photo) presented the results of the consultation to an audience of EU policy-makers and Brussels-based trade organisations. “The most important criteria which we applied in the selection relate to the efficient and sustainable use of the area” said Mr. Meier who then introduced the winning proposal of Royal Haskoning for a CO2-neutral, automated and truck-free container terminal with optimal use of space. Second and third positions went to proposals from ECT Delta Terminals (Hutchison Port Holdings) and the Hamburg-based Buss Group.

The presentation was followed by a round-table discussion with Hamburg personalities, including Senator Axel Gedaschko and HHLA Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Peters, and ESPO Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven. “Hamburg is one of the first ports in Europe to apply a market consultation process of this type”, said Patrick Verhoeven, “This is a powerful tool to investigate ideas from current or potential participants in the market prior to the actual bidding phase. We will therefore list the Steinwerder example as a good practice case in a new publication on the use of concessions that ESPO will issue later this year.”
The evening was concluded by DG Move Director-General Matthias Ruete who congratulated the port of Hamburg with its initiative and underlined the vital role ports play in the ongoing review of the Trans-European Transport Networks.

Source: Transport Weekly