PIONEERS attended the BluePorts Limburg Conference

On 28 January 2026, BluePorts Limburg presented a new vision for inland ports in the province. The event attracted significant interest, with more than 125 participants, including senior representatives from the business community, government, knowledge institutions, and relevant interest groups.

BluePorts Limburg represents a collaboration between the eleven port municipalities in the Dutch province of Limburg. The initiative is currently led by Venlo/Port of Venlo in collaboration with the Province of Limburg. Lessons learned from PIONEERS are being shared with a wider audience.

The session focused on cooperation, forward-thinking strategies, and actionable steps for inland ports. It became clear that collaboration is essential to maintaining the economic strength of the regions, with an emphasis on further development, professionalisation, and strategic coordination. This collaboration extends not only within the region itself, but also to seaports, the national government, and the European Union.

Continued investment in vital infrastructure and provision of space for the circular transition will ensure sustainable logistics links and security of supply. The speakers emphasized that intensive cooperation is critical to preventing inland ports from falling behind in logistics and to strengthening their position in relation to government and European stakeholders.

Hanna Stelzel, Director of Containers at the Port of Rotterdam, highlighted the importance of inland ports speaking with one voice to maximize collective influence. Cees-Jan Pen, a lecturer in sustainable urban transformation at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, addressed the role of inland ports within the broader context of circularity. The discussions made clear that attention to inland ports is essential at this stage.

Peter van Wijlick from the Port of Venlo presented the new BluePorts Limburg Port Vision. [You can download the vision here.]

The presentations were followed by two panel sessions featuring Jasper Kuntzalaers (Regional Minister), Hubert Mackus (Alderman of the Municipality of Maastricht), Turi Fioriti (EFIP), and several entrepreneurs, among others.

PIONEERS was well represented by Gerwin Zomer, Jeffrey Willems, Daniel ten Ham and Ivo Schepers.