Freight Village with expansion potential
The JadeWeserPort Freight Village (GVZ) in the direct vicinity of the EUROGATE Container Terminal, in Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany, offers the national and international logistics industry, 150 hectares of high-quality business locations for logistics properties. It is one of the leading green field projects in Germany, and enables the supply of around 250 million consumers through well-developed feeder and hinterland transport systems. The sites are primarily aimed at port-related companies: freight forwarders and transport companies, contract logistics companies, and maritime service providers. Being directly adjacent to the container terminal in Germany’s only deep-water container port makes the logistics hub particularly attractive. Short distances between the seaward transhipment point, customs-relevant areas, the control centre, and the companies in the GVZ, characterise the location, and guarantee fast processes. The plots are designated according to commercial and industrial classifications, and with a maximum construction height of 50 metres, also allow companies to realise and operate 24/7 multi-user big sheds, high-bay warehouses, and order-picking and distribution centres. The business locations in the GVZ are offered on a leasehold basis. Half of the plots have the option of having their own railway sidings. Preparatory work has recently begun on a 140,000 square metre covered logistics area on 21 hectares in the heart of the GVZ. Currently, 114 hectares have already been leased, and companies from the automotive, frozen food logistics, and online retail sectors, for example, have set up operations here. According to Andreas Bullwinkel, Managing Director of Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven-JadeWeserPort Marketing GmbH & Co. KG, assessment of the future prospects: “A potential expansion area for the existing GVZ is in our focus for
medium-term development to cover future needs. In the last few months especially, we have noticed an increased market demand for the still available space. The side effects of the pandemic period have led many companies to review their internationally configured supply chains. Increasingly in demand at the moment are logistics locations with a trimodal character, which are characterised by a well-developed infrastructure, as well as flexible offers of commercial plots, and adequate expansion possibilities.”
Hapag-Lloyd’s Far East Europe service includes Wilhelmshaven
Six large shipping companies now include JadeWeserPort on their timetables. They connect Wilhelmshaven with destinations in Asia as well as Northern and Eastern Europe. Members of all three shipping company associations, 2M (MAERSK and MSC), Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO SHIPPING, EVERGREEN and OOCL) and THE Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, ONE and Yang Ming) call regularly at the EUROGATE Container Terminal, playing a significant role in providing export-oriented customers with a large range of offers for the transport of their goods towards Asia. Wilhelmshaven is the only port on the German Bight served by the Asia-North Europe 1 service. Destinations in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Sweden can be reached via various feeder lines.
Andreas Bullwinkel, gives this assessment of the entry of Hapag-Lloyd: “The decision of the largest German shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd, to take a stake in both the container terminal and a 50 percent stake in the rail terminal is a strong and future-oriented signal for the location. With this strong partner, the potential of the port will be used even better.”
Electrified line direct to the port
The location is optimally connected to the hinterland – this applies to both road and rail links. The A29 motorway ends at the freight village via a traffic-light-free junction, leading directly to the port area and connecting the port with key economic regions via the A1, A28 and A30 motorways. The Deutsche Bahn rail network is the basis for reliable transportation by train. The completion of the electrification of the feeder line plus the 16 storage tracks (suitable for block trains) at the freight village effectively optimise the hinterland rail connections to ensure efficient traction and improved accessibility of the JadeWeserPort logistics hub. Almost 30 railway companies and seaport hinterland operators offer transport to and from Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven. A number of weekly connections to Maschen and Bremen as well as several destinations in North Rhine-Westphalia enable smooth movement of containers in the hinterland and on to Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The container terminal has a six-track terminal for combined transport (CT) with a link to the storage tracks.
What the JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven offers:
1,725 m quay
18 m deep fairway
Tide-independent accessibility for ultra large container ships (ULCV) with draft of up to 16.5 m
Turning circle of 700 m
Short approach of only 23 nautical miles
Nautical advantages over other ports
Modern infrastructure capable of handling ULCV with more than 20,000 TEU
