The vision is to create a general plan which will be rolled out step-by-step to reconcile a number of evident contradictions.
Port operations will be intensified and the links between town and port will be improved. The project couples stricter safety requirements with the creation of attractive areas that will be accessible to the public. Infrastructure will be improved and modernised, while large areas of the port will be returned to a natural green state in an effort generally to reduce environmental impacts. To keep initial costs at a low level, and to meet ambitious capacity and environmental goals, all the new initiatives will be based largely on existing structures.
A new safety perimeter features several "islands" as common areas where city and port can meet. The islands accommodate port and public facilities and act as gates to the secured port area, with a public port centre, and a central gate system designed as a roundabout. Simple and integrated structures for both port traffic and public access will be intertwined and yet avoid getting in each other's way - like a handshake between town and port. The layout offers a unique experience: An existing flyover is transformed into a new walkway/green thoroughfare where it will be possible to walk over and through the container terminal.
The future-proofing of operations and capacity at the container terminal using RTG cranes is based on comprehensive research into alternative methods of creating the marine design, set-up and container-handling systems. Large-scale re-use of the existing structures is the basis for an ambitious scenario which optimises capacity and minimises environmental impacts – in short, the project cleverly fuses pragmatism and ideals.