ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL
AFFAIRS
Gateway to Europe
Trade, transportation and distribution play an important
role in the Dutch economy in which exports account for 60 % of GDP. The Dutch trade sector
employs 27 % of the population. A dense population of 170 million is within a 300 miles
reach of Amsterdam. To put it differently: two-thirds of the US population in an area
about the size of the state of Texas. A total of 350 million customers are within 24 to 48
hours by rail, road and waterways like the Rhine and Meuse.
The Dutch are the transporters of Europe. Transshipments of goods to smaller airplanes and
feeder vessels take place in main-ports. The important main-ports for Europe are Amsterdam
Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam.
Amsterdam Schiphol
Airport is the third largest airport in Europe and one of the best, offering the
highest quality of services in freight transport and passenger service. Schiphol Airport
has won more than 100 international awards for its high quality of service.
In 2001, 1.1 million tons of freight and 39.3 million passengers moved through Schiphol,
and data for 2002 shows that Schiphol Airport remains a top performer in Europe.
The Port of
Rotterdam remains the number one port in the world.
The decline in throughput in the port of Rotterdam remained limited to 1.7% in the first
six months of 2002. Over 159 million tonnes were handled, compared to 162 million tonnes
in the first half of 2001. Preliminary data for the second half of 2002 indicate that the
2001-2002 year-to-year comparison will be stable.
More generally, 50 % of all goods entering the European Union go through Rotterdam or
Amsterdam. Rotterdam’s port plan 2010 aims at expanding the harbor by reclaiming 1250
hectares of land from the sea. Eight new container terminals will be built, and high speed
trains will link up Schiphol and Rotterdam to the TGV network. A rail freight corridor
(Betuwe lijn) will link Rotterdam port directly to Germany.
The Port
of Amsterdam is predicted to handle 70 million tonnes of cargo in 2002. Amsterdam’s
Ports are some of the best operating ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range.
In the first six months of 2002, goods transhipments in the ports of Amsterdam (Amsterdam,
Zaanstad, Beverwijk and IJmuiden/Velsen) increased by 3% to reach 35.9 million tons
compared to the same period last year. This was mainly thanks to Amsterdam and IJmuiden
which showed increases of 2.2% to 25.7 million tons and 6.9% to 9.9 million tons
respectively. All cargo categories improved performance.
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