A great gateway to Europe

The Port of Amsterdam is the fifth largest port in Europe making it an important international logistics intersection. It offers an extremely wide variety of facilities and business interests targeting an efficient transit and processing of incoming and outgoing general, bulk and container cargoes.

Spirit of commerce and opportunities

The Dutch work ethos is characterised by a continual pursuit of innovation and service though safety naturally comes first. Take advantage of the famous Dutch spirit of commerce, and make use of our excellent infrastructure and services. The unique opportunities of the port are Some 500 hectares (1200 acres) of business sites available; All facilities necessary for Deep Sea and Short Sea services; Twenty minutes from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; Immediately accessible hinterland connections by road, water and rail; Well trained, committed and multilingual labour force.

European distribution centres

Danzas, IBM, Sigma Coatings, Nissan, Starbucks and Hitachi are just examples of many great names that set up European distribution centres and value added logistics operations in the Amsterdam port. There are over two hundred head offices and dozens of European distribution centres in the immediate vicinity of the port area. The roads around the port give direct access to the European road network. Investment is ongoing to keep these connections up to standard.

Over the past few years, large parts of the ring road around Amsterdam have been completely renewed and capacity increased. The next important projects are doubling the number of lanes in the Coen tunnel and the construction of a direct link to the airport.

The port handles Deep Sea, Short Sea and Inland shipping and has all facilities for the swift transhipment and further transport of goods. With Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at a distance of only twenty minutes, unique combinations of air traffic and seaborne cargo are possible. This distance is also favourable with regard to the flying in of staff and visitors. Schiphol serves over 240 destinations and is the number four airport in Europe by volume, number two in the world by traveller preference.

International business Climate

The city of Amsterdam has an attractive international business climate. The advantages of the city are: A well trained, multilingual and strongly motivated labour force; With Euronext and more than sixty international banks it is an important financial center; Many and varied professional services are available.

Amsterdam is a dazzling congress city with internationally renowned shows and fairs and generous hotel accommodation; The Amsterdam Internet Exchange is one of the largest (neutral) internet hubs. Amsterdam has a very high cable density; As far as business advice is concerned, there is a large choice of renowned international research and consultancy bureaus; Amsterdam has a unique living and working climate.

Recovery of foreign investments

After the meagre results for 2002, foreign direct investment in the Netherlands picked up considerably in 2003, the Minister for Foreign Trade, Karien van Gennip, told the Lower House of Parliament. Van Gennip confirmed a substantial improvement in the overall results for 2003 compared to 2002: The all-time low seems to have passed. In 2003, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, was involved in 104 new investment projects for foreign companies (compared with 71 in 2002).

These new investment projects represent nearly EUR 600 million in direct investment (EUR 137 million in 2002) and the creation of 2,700 new jobs (1,900 in 2002).