OLDENBURG. In February, Lower Saxony’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Housing and Digitalisation, Seaports of Niedersachsen and NPorts took stock and reported a drop in transhipment of seven per cent from 54 million tonnes to around 50 million tonnes for the nine seaports in Lower Saxony in 2023. Container and coal transhipment received the brunt of it. Olaf Lies, Minister of Economic Affairs for Lower Saxony, identified the ongoing war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions and China’s economic decline as the primary causes for the drop. “Our ports not only secure Germany’s energy supply but also ensure that we continue to promote the climate transition in Germany,” he said, explaining that Lower Saxony has done its homework on port infrastructure financing as well as assumed responsibility. “But economic challenges reveal that port investment is a national issue. The German government’s contribution needs to be sufficient, and we’ve observed positive signals especially when it comes to investing in Cuxhaven,” Lies added.
Credits: Andreas Burmann
