The Port of Rotterdam Authority has announced that it will transfer some €290m back to the Dutch state in March, partial repayment for the €726m contribution made in 2011/12 to aid with the construction of Maasvlakte 2.
The move, which also includes an increase in dividends to the Municipality (by €13.3m) and the Dutch state (by €5.5m), comes eight years ahead of schedule thanks to the better-than-expected financial position the port currently finds itself in, the Port Authority noted.
Originally, Rotterdam was to pay back the amount by means of extra dividend to the Dutch state, spread over a number of years, as of 2021.
'The financial position of the Port Authority is developing better than forecasted,' explained Paul Smits, CFO of the Port Authority. 'This is partly due to fact that the Maasvlakte 2 project is costing less than forecasted – there have been virtually no setbacks during its construction.
'Last year we entered into discussion with both our shareholders,' he continued. 'In consultation, we changed the agreements from 2005 and this allows us to spread our cash outflows over a longer period. That is more favourable for us. At the same time we are meeting the request of the shareholders to raise the dividend in the short term. On balance we pay the same amount in dividend in the end.'
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