Monday 10 September Minister M. Schultz van Haegen opens the new quay of the port of Holtum North and the adjacent quay area. The port of Holtum North is now the largest inland terminal in the Netherlands.

The expansion of the port includes a new quay with a length of 150 meters and a storage capacity for containers of four acres. Also the harbor has been deepened to 3.95 meters, so that larger, more heavily laden ships are able to load and unload. The total capacity of the port has doubled from 150,000 to 300,000 TEU.

Before the start of proceedings, the municipality of Sittard-Geleen (owner) and Barge Terminal Born signed a contract which stipulates that Barge Terminal Born will be using the new facilities the next ten years.

The expansion has cost more than 10 million euros. Of this 4.7 million from the Government (Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment), 2,100,000 of the province of Limburg and 3.2 million from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen.