SWITZERLAND: Both Basel cantons and the federal government have agreed to upgrade the Port of Switzerland in Kleinhüningen on the edges of Basel to strengthen the national logistics hub. The cantons of Basel-City and Basel-Country, Switzerland’s Ministry of Transport and The Port of Switzerland, in Basel, have come to an agreement to expand Switzerland’s main port complex. “This includes the construction of a third harbor basin in the port of Basel-Kleinhüningen,” communicated the Swiss government on Wednesday September 27th.
The Port of Switzerland is a key logistics hub for the country on the River Rhine. It consists of three ports in the two Basel cantons: The ports of Birsfelden, Muttenz and Basel-Kleinhüningen. Basel-Kleinhüningen is the largest of the three. “More than 10 per cent of all Swiss imports that find their way here on the Rhine from all over the world via ocean ports like Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam are handled in Basel, Birsfelden and Muttenz,” according to the port’s website. The port complex has large grain solos as well as storage facilities for petrochemicals.
BP Switzerland, A.H. & Meyer and around 100 other companies use the port’s cargo facilities. The Port of Switzerland also operates passenger river cruises along the Rhine. The upgrades to the port envisage “the integration of Rhine shipping into national and international flows” while strengthening the port’s connections to other key national transport supply chains, states the Swiss government. Christoph Brutschin, head of the Department of Economic, Social and Environment Affairs for the canton of Basel-City, called the agreement “a decisive pillar for the future of the most important logistics hub in Switzerland and in particular the town center of Kleinhüningen.” “The Rhine ports are now definitely being recognized as a hub of national importance, which is good news for our business location,” added Thomas Weber, head of the Department of Economics and Health at the canton of Basel-Country.
