Port of Rotterdam offers good lessons on port developments

When it comes to port development and industrial zones around them, you have to sell the space before you develop the IDZ. That’s according to David de Waal, consul general of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who recently addressed the Transport Forum in Stellenbosch. De Waal believes there are many opportunities for co-operation between the two countries – especially in terms of developing port infrastructure. “Our initial focus has been on the Port of Saldanha as it is, in our opinion, the most promising of South Africa’s ports and there can be much collaboration between this port and the Port of Rotterdam,” he said. He said lessons learnt by the Dutch in expanding the Port of Rotterdam could only benefit the Port of Saldanha. “We have recently expanded the Port of Rotterdam significantly by reclaiming land from the sea, but before even one spade was set in the soil every piece of retail space had been sold,” he said.