Prime Minister Rob Jetten, visits Port of Rotterdam as industry flags investment barriers

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten visited the Port of Rotterdam on August 12 to discuss logistics, industrial investment and the energy transition with Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Boudewijn Siemons.

During the three-hour visit to Maasvlakte, Jetten first toured the APM Terminals container terminal. Discussions focused on the importance of reliable container transport for companies importing and exporting food products, intermediate goods and finished products.

The visit also addressed the resilience and vulnerability of Dutch infrastructure, which supports cargo flows between Rotterdam and industrial and consumer markets across the Netherlands and Europe.

Jetten later met representatives from the Rotterdam industrial sector at the Portlantis visitor centre to discuss the investment climate.

Several companies are considering investments worth hundreds of millions of euros in new sustainable production facilities. However, businesses remain concerned about whether such projects can generate sufficient returns in the Netherlands.

Industry representatives also highlighted practical obstacles, including electricity grid congestion and restrictions related to nitrogen emissions.

The discussions included Recharge Rotterdam, a programme through which the port authority, the Dutch government and industry are working to advance several specific investment projects.

Jetten concluded the visit at Shell’s Holland Hydrogen 1, which is being developed as Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen production facility.

Once operational, the plant will use renewable electricity generated by offshore wind farms to produce hydrogen. The project forms part of Rotterdam’s wider industrial transition, with sections of Maasvlakte reserved for sustainable industrial developments.