PIONEERS Green Port Master Plan meeting in Venlo

A two-day physical meeting with Constanta Port, Port de Barcelona, Gemeente Venlo, and Port of Antwerp-Bruges took place in Venlo, Netherlands, on the 7th and 8th of February 2023.

Venlo is a relevant intermodal logistic hub connected with Antwerp and Rotterdam both by rail and barge, and it was an excellent place for PIONEERS ports to get inspired for the work on the Green Port Master Plan.

On the 7th, the participants exchanged best practices while reflecting on the challenges faced in the project through a structured intervision approach to empower team members with the sharing of uncertainties and advice. During the afternoon, the PIONEERS partners discussed the deliverables and digital collaboration process to understand how to work together better.

On Wednesday, 8th February, the attendees had the opportunity to tour Venlo, both the port and a part of the Venlo Logistic Hub, alongside five Maastricht University students, with Michel Weijers as their guide. First, at the Barge Terminal, Daniël ten Ham (Hutchison Ports Venlo) and Joram Donkers (Municipality of Venlo) gave a presentation on the expansion of the Barge Terminal and the North-shore development. Then, Ruud van Heugten (Development Company Greenport Venlo) explained the area development with warehouses, the biggest (inland) Rail Terminal of the Netherlands with eight tracks 900 meters in length, nine windmills and more than 400 hectares of nature development. The tour ended at Supply Chain Valley, an association of logistics companies in North Limburg with high sustainability objectives.

The participants left Venlo feeling grateful and energised, especially after learning from the cradle-to-cradle inspired building of Venlo that “we shouldn’t aim for doing things less bad, but doing them good right away instead“, an inspirational moment for the ongoing development of the Green Port Master Plan!

Stay tuned with PIONEERS on its journey to Shape the Green Ports of the Future by joining our Stakeholder Community.

Have a look at the photo gallery!