State Minister Buchholz Visits the Port of Kiel

 

During a tour of facilities the minister was briefed on the latest prospects and investment projects in the port by Kiel Lord Mayor Dr Ulf Kämpfer and port chief Dr Dirk Claus. ”My impression that the port of Kiel is well-positioned and is very much holding its own competitively has been confirmed”, the Minister said. “The state of Schleswig-Holstein will continue to back this successful course in future and energetically support it”, he added. A total of more than € 170 million ($201m)  have been invested over the past ten years to strengthen and expand the position of the port of Kiel. A further € 110 million ($130m) could follow up to 2030. The PORT OF KIEL and the other companies associated with the port are of growing economic importance for the region and now employ more than 2,500 people in port-related jobs.

 

On target for passenger and cargo growth
Kiel is the biggest cruise shipping port in Schleswig-Holstein and the market leader in ferry traffic to Norway, western Sweden and the Baltic region. This year for the first time Kiel will handle more than seven million tons of cargo while 2.1 million passengers will move through the port’s terminals, beginning or ending a ferry or cruise ship journey. To ensure continued growth in future, a far-sighted policy of providing suitable development sites must be pursued. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said: “We will examine whether it is possible to develop the site currently occupied by the old coal-fired power station, in order to provide long-term expansion for the Ostuferhafen.” In the short and medium term however the port’s attention will focus first on the Stadthafen area. Additional handling facilities are planned at the Ostseekai Cruise Shipping Terminal and hard-standing areas will be expanded at the Schwedenkai Terminal. At the latter, the investment plan also provides for a shore-based power facility. “However, to make the operation of shore-based power facilities economical for ships”, said Dirk Claus, “it is absolutely essential that power drawn from those facilities is free of EEG re-allocation levies”.
 
Port hinterland transport of key importance
Port of Kiel hinterland transport accounts for some 250,000 consignments a year, most of them truck, trailer and container loads, as well as many cars. The port’s most important road connections are the A7 and the A21, which are currently being upgraded. In addition the port of Kiel is keen to see the early realisation of an extended A20 through Schleswig-Holstein. “We would however like the railway to handle a large part of the growing number of consignments”, said Dirk Claus. Intermodal goods traffic by rail has already been strengthened by the introduction of a weekly direct train link between Kiel and Trieste as well as by an additional departure to Verona. In the first six months of the year – for the first time - more than 16,000 consignments were loaded onto rail waggons in the rail terminals at Schwedenkai and in the Ostuferhafen; a 10 % increase over the same period of last year. To further boost the amount of cargo transported by rail it is planned to revamp the marshalling yard at Meimersdorf to accept trains of 750 metres in length. A top priority is the construction of an additional rail track at the Schwedenkai Terminal to boost performance capacity.