According to a statement, the initiative will see duisport withdraw a coal island and build a trimodal container terminal in its place, called the ‘Duisberg Gateway Terminal’.

It is a response to the sharp decline in coal handling resulting from the energy transformation, and the new terminal will be a key gateway for Europe-China trade and a vital part of Beijing’s New Silk Road.

The throughput generated by this will be approximately 850,000 TEU a year upon completion of the terminal, which will be 220,000 square meters, 20,000 of which will be for warehouses.

Included in the terminal will be six gantry crane systems, 12 block train platforms with a track length of 730 meters each, five loading areas and three berths for inland vessels, as well as container storage of 60,000 square meters to ensure efficient traffic.

It will cost approximately US$111.2 million and is expected to be completed at some point in 2022.

Duisberg is the center of booming trade with China, with approximately 30% of trains to and from Europe running through the Port, which amounts to 35-40 trains per week. It is believed that that trade will now increase substantially.

In the future, up to 100 China-bound trains per week, rail traffic on the European rail corridors, in particular to Eastern and Southeastern Europe, and inland waterway services to seaports will operate from the ‘Duisberg Gateway Terminal’.

As well as the potential increases in trade, there is also a significant environmental benefit to be had as the new terminal will save 60 million tonnes of Co2 a year, according to duisport.

Erich Staake, duisport’s CEO, explained: “We are reacting to the changing market and are building Europe’s largest container terminal in the hinterland on the coal island. In this way, we are consolidating our leading position in Chinese trade, creating jobs, and strengthening NRW as the most important logistics location in Europe.”