The Amsterdam Port Area handled a record 84.4 million metric tons of cargo in 2006, up 12.7 percent from the previous year, final figures published by the port showed on Friday.

This made the Amsterdam Port Area, consisting of the Ports of Amsterdam, Zaanstad, Beverwijk and IJmuiden, the fourth biggest port in northwestern Europe in terms of cargo throughput, overtaking France's Le Havre port by a substantial margin.

The first two months of this year also witnessed a strong expansion, with the port's transshipment growing by 24 percent in comparison to the corresponding period of 2006.

The improvement was chiefly due to increased transshipment of coal, oil products and containers, which grew by 43.8 percent, 25.4 percent and 183 percent, respectively.

In 2006, Amsterdam Port Area handled 25.4 million tons of oil products, 22.3 percent up from the previous year. The container sector experienced a spectacular growth, with the volumes handled soaring 364 percent to 305,722 TEUs in 2006. This was undoubtedly the biggest jump achieved last year in any port in the world.

Other sectors on the increase were sand, gravel and minerals, which grew 6.5 percent, chemical products, which rose 12.8 percent, and coal with a 3.1 percent rise.

Last year, the number of ships calling at the Amsterdam Port Area grew 3.5 percent to 9,027. Meanwhile, the ships calling at Amsterdam are getting bigger and bigger, with a larger capacity for both passengers and cargo.

In 2006, the Amsterdam Port Area invested 38 million euros (51.3 million U.S. dollars) in the port infrastructure.

Source: Xinhua