Premium
DEALING WITH COMPETITION: THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM
Author(s) -
KREUKELS TON,
WEVER EGBERT
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9663.1998.tb01560.x
Subject(s) - port (circuit theory) , competition (biology) , engineering , biology , ecology , electrical engineering
Rotterdam is by far the biggest port in the Hamburg‐Le Havre range: not only for bulk goods, but for containers as well. The dominance of containers is a clear illustration of the fact that Rotterdam's position within the Hamburg‐Le Havre range cannot exclusively be explained by three often‐cited traditional factors: its favourable geographical location within Western Europe, its location at the mouth of the River Rhine and its excellent connection with the North Sea. Equally important was the long lasting coalition between the Port Authority and the City Council, having the same interests for a long period. However, after 1970 the coalition changed in character. Gradually the City Council put less emphasis on economic issues and more upon environmental aspects. From this environmental point of view the activities in the port were seen as rather negative. And later on with the worsening economic situation, it soon became clear that the region could no longer rely exclusively on the labour‐generating function of the port. Unlike in the past, many port‐related activities are now located outside the port area. The activities that still depend on a location in the port itself show considerable productivity gains, but at the cost of jobs. Nevertheless, the port and the city of Rotterdam together recently developed a new Port Plan 2010 which aims to reconcile economic and environmental aspects. Moreover, the plan intends to stimulate the economy of the city and the region of Rotterdam. Yet it is realized that the spatial networks in which the port is functioning nowadays do not, unlike in the past, coincide with those of the municipality of Rotterdam.