Hutchison Ports and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the terminal investment arm of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), have resumed negotiations over the proposed Omega container terminal in Rotterdam, according to Dutch unions FNV Havens and CNV.
The unions said they were informed of the resumed talks during a meeting with Hutchison Ports Delta II management on October 1.
The unions said management indicated that the Port of Rotterdam Authority was seeking clarity before January 1, 2027, on whether Omega would go ahead. FNV added that, if the project did not proceed, the authority could make the site available to other interested parties.
FNV noted that earlier decision dates had already shifted. "Our confidence in Omega and in yet another 'hard' deadline has now disappeared," the union said.
The talks had been paused in July, with a letter from an Europe Container Terminals (ECT) director citing "insufficient progress".
FNV said contingency work on transferring Delta II employees and equipment to ECT, should Omega not proceed, had been suspended following the resumption of talks. CNV has called for an uncertainty payment and a social plan for staff in the event Delta II ceases to exist.
The 2022 proposal covers the Europahaven area on Maasvlakte I, incorporating the northern section of Hutchison Ports ECT Delta and the Delta II site.
It originally envisaged five deep-sea berths along about 2.6 kilometres of quay, an annual capacity of six million to seven million TEU and a first phase entering operation in 2027.
