EMEA News
Northwest EU Ports Argue Against Focusing Investment in the Mediterranean
Nine North West European ports have come out against a recent report which calls for greater funding and investment focused on ports around the Mediterranean.
The draft report was originally released by the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON) to give recommendations for how funds should be allocated in the Connecting Europe Facility funding program (CEF) established by the European Union (EU).
Under the first phase of CEF, €12 billion ($15.3 billion) has been earmarked for funding transportation infrastructure.
In a joint statement, the combined ports argued against the report's recommendation of developing Mediterranean port infrastructure and links between second-tier European cities in order to shift more ship traffic South.
The ports also countered the claims that focusing on the Mediterranean would save time and money, in addition to reducing emissions and alleviating port congestion.
"The ESPON findings clearly ignore some basic socio-economic facts, dominant economic trends, commercial consolidation and technology in new generation of shipbuilding and port-efficiency," it said.
Instead, funds should go towards North West ports which had already established a track record of performance and efficiency, it said.
The collective also cited a 2011 study done by independent research agency NEA, which found that seven ports located in Northern Europe had four times the container throughput of 11 major ports operating in the South.
The study also found that northern seaports offered the most efficient route for container transport into Central Europe.
"An investment policy focusing on peripheral ports will therefore result in insufficient return on public investments," the group said.
The statement was released on behalf of the Ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Hamburg, Bremen/Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groningen Seaports and Moerdijk.
The EU has also recently established a framework to install liquefied natural gas infrastructure in ports across the EU.
