North Holland Commissioner wants a new Amsterdam port

HAARLEM – The Queen’s Commissioner in the Province of North Holland, Borghouts, recently used his annual New Year’s statement to float another proposal to build facilities on the Dutch coast. To ease the congested dock facilities around the Dutch capital, Borghouts sees nothing but positives for Amsterdam if it built anew in the North Sea. It would playing level the field when competing with other open waterway ports such as Hamburg and Le Havre. Amsterdam would not be compelled to replace new development sites with nature sites elsewhere in its land-scarce region, and old port sites could be freed up for urban redevelopment. The left-wing chair of the North Holland estates sees a new coastal development also as a great public relations opportunity: the Netherlands needs a new Delta Works type of project that will attract international attention to its technical expertise.