Round Table “Holland: Connecting Global Airport/Seaport Hubs – Smart and Sustainable Supply Chains”

Toespraak | 08-09-2010

Ladies and gentlemen,

Being here in Singapore is a fascinating experience. 

This round table is intended to generate new ideas and plans to make our cooperation even closer.  I have brought with me representatives from a large number of leading Dutch companies. Together, they represent the best the Netherlands has to offer in transport and logistics. I have every confidence that we can create new opportunities together.

I am very impressed by what you have achieved in your country. It is a metropolis where East and West meet in harmony. A beacon of prosperity and stability.

Since gaining independence in 1965, you have worked hard to become one of the most successful countries in the world. It is typical of Singapore that you were able to recover from the global economic and financial crisis quickly and smoothly. You play a pivotal role in a network of connections that spans the entire world. Number two on the global Logistics Performance Index of the World Bank. And you achieved all this under your own strength without the benefit of natural resources from your own soil.

Small in size.
Large in impact.
That is Singapore.

Your economy is similar to that of the Netherlands.
You might say we resemble one another like a brother does a sister.
We are not identical twins.
Nonetheless, the similarities are striking.

The Netherlands is also a major player in the global network of transport and trade flows. Our sea ports, our airport and our logistics centres make the Netherlands a world-class hub. ‘Small in size; large in impact,’ applies to the Netherlands as well.

We are the world’s fifth largest exporter. Bigger than Russia.
The sixth largest investor. Bigger than Japan.
The seventh largest importer. Bigger than South Korea.

The Netherlands is one of the founding fathers of the European Union.
The European Union is your major trading partner. More important than China or Malaysia.

The chance is great that a shipment of machinery loaded at the port in Singapore with the destination of a factory in the German Ruhrgebiet, will enter Europe at the port of Rotterdam.

Several hundreds of millions of Europeans live in our hinterland. They receive a large proportion of their goods and products via our mainports. These mainports are presenting themselves here collectively: Rotterdam, the largest port outside Asia, Amsterdam, the fourth largest port in Europe, and Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, one of the largest and most efficient European airports, for both passengers and cargo. These mainports are situated close to one another!

Hardware

Ladies and gentlemen,
What is needed to be and remain at the top of the bill in logistics?

In my view, three factors are essential. I call these logistics hardware, software and greenware.

First: what I call hardware. By this I mean our infrastructure.

I greatly admire what Singapore has realised in terms of hardware. As an engineer, I can appreciate your technical achievements. Changi Airport and the rail network of Mass Rapid Transit are truly state of the art. Your port is among the most modern and largest in the world. Nowhere else can you find a higher concentration of shipyards. All this is very impressive.

Size matters. That is why the government and the business community in the Netherlands are also investing heavily in our mainports and connections with the hinterland. 
This round table presents an excellent opportunity for exploring new cooperation possibilities.

Software

Ladies and gentlemen,
The hardware gives our countries their logistics strength.
But more is needed to top the bill.
In addition to the hardware, there is a second important factor: I call this software.

It is not just about mainports and not only about infrastructure.
What it is about, is a complete transport network in which goods and products are taken from A to B as efficiently, safely and economically as possible.

Our points of reference are not the separate links, but rather the connections throughout the worldwide supply chain.

For this reason, the Dutch ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are presenting themselves together with Schiphol Amsterdam Airport as well as with the Dutch logistics community. We can offer a truly multimodal hub.

Everywhere in the Netherlands transport companies are working on achieving optimal loading so that not a single lorry or train runs too often and no ship sails more often than necessary.
Ports and airports are working on the very latest transfer systems which are all but completely automated.
Authorities and transport companies are working on multimodal terminals at which complex goods flows come together seamlessly and are divided effortlessly.
Whizz-kids are developing new ICT solutions so that paperwork can be kept to a minimum and every box or pallet is traceable anywhere and at any time.

I recognise this way of thinking here in Singapore. For example, take the cargo handling at the Changi Airfreight Centre. Fully-automated cargo handling 24 hours a day. This makes your airport stronger than many of its competitors.

Because:
Every minute counts.
Every drop of fuel wasted is one drop too many.
We are fighting for every dollar efficiency gain.

Greenware

Ladies and gentlemen,
I have spoken about the hardware and software of transport.
I have told you that the Netherlands sets the very highest requirements for both.
And yet, that is not the whole story.

If you actually want to be in the lead and remain there, you not only have to look at the here and now, but also to the future.

A sustainable future in which we will have to make the most of the scarce space available in our mega-cities.
A future in which fossil fuels will become ever scarcer and more expensive.
A future in which our soil, our air, our rivers and our seas will have to become much cleaner to save the environment we live in.
A future in which we want to safeguard social harmony and distribute wealth so that everyone benefits from it. 

I am convinced that we as key logistics players will need to weigh these interests in the balance in all our investment decisions.

We need to focus on the third essential factor alongside logistics hardware and software: greenware.

Singapore has already taken this path, among other things, with your Green Building Masterplan. Singapore wants to present itself as a lively yet highly liveable global city. Your aim is to guide industry towards shaping a sustainable built environment.

This also entails making logistics as a whole more green. For this reason we are promoting Dutch mainports as being at the cutting edge of sustainability. 

One example of an exciting initiative is the launch of a project called the Grounds. The Grounds is a testing ground for companies and universities, located at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. Its aim is to develop new applications that help to make air transport cleaner and more efficient.

The ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam too are aspiring not only to be leaders in efficiency, but also in sustainability and use of space.

• A state-of-the-art dedicated rail corridor ensures that goods are transported from Rotterdam to Germany in one fluid movement, and from there, on to Genoa in Italy, 1500 kilometres to the south. Amsterdam is also connected to this line.
• In Rotterdam, increasingly more houses, offices and hospitals are heated with the residual heat from factories in the port area.
• And Amsterdam is trying to maximise the use of every square foot of space. How can you double transhipment in a densely populated area without building large extensions to the port? Amsterdam has accepted this challenge.

Concrete examples of improving the environment going hand in hand with greater efficiency.

Closing paragraphs

Ladies and gentlemen,
I have told you about our ambitions as a transport country.
High-quality logistics is in our blood. I am proud that the World Bank ranks the Netherlands – together with  Singapore – among the best logistics nations in the world in terms of efficiency, quality and competence.

We want to take the lead in logistics hardware, software and greenware.
We want to side with creative and innovative solutions.
And we want to cooperate with the best partners who challenge us to excel.

Singapore is a partner par excellence. It is with good reason that we are among your country’s biggest investors.

Singapore and the Netherlands are separated by a distance of over 9000 kilometres. But the similarities are striking. Both have open economies. Both are logistic hubs of global dimensions. Both aspire to remain outstanding.

Our hubs complement one another perfectly. We can help one another in finding the best solutions and in learning from each other’s best practices. That is why we are here, to grow even stronger together. 

Thank you for your attention.