bayernhafen Aschaffenburg combines reliability of supply, modal shift and environmental protection

Aschaffenburg, 15 March 2022 – bayernhafen brings together a diverse range of goods and delivers the right infrastructure to meet the challenge of shifting long-distance traffic from the road networks to the two environmentally friendly transport modes of inland waterway and rail. In 2021, bayernhafen moved a total of 9.15 million tonnes of cargo and freight by inland waterway and rail at its six locations of Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau – a 4.6% increase on the previous year. 1.37 million tonnes of goods were moved by inland waterway and rail at Aschaffenburg, a significant increase of 12.2% on the previous year’s volume. This corresponds to around 200 fewer truck journeys per day.

667,372 tonnes of water-borne cargo and freight were handled at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg, more than 97% of the previous year’s volume. The decline in fuel transport was partly offset by increases in the handling of construction materials, minerals and earths. Metals, ores and agricultural products were also transported by water.

Very strong growth was recorded in rail handling, with a significant increase of 31.3% to 701,198 tonnes. This growth was primarily thanks to Combined Transport, which grew to 30,647 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit), an increase of over 75% on the previous year. In addition to seaport-hinterland container transport, semi-trailers are also transported with great success over the Alps to Novara in the north of Italy. The continental and trans-Alp transport segments promise further potential for growth. Other important rail cargo & freight are raw materials, minerals and earths, timber, and metals and ores.

“At each of the regions in which we operate we act as a hub for the import and export of goods and are a driver of the regional economy. Our inland ports and the infrastructure they provide ensure the reliable supply of goods to the region as well as the shift to the more environmentally friendly transport modes of inland waterway and rail,” says Joachim Zimmermann, the Chief Executive Officer of bayernhafen. “This requires investment in trimodal port infrastructure and the concentration of logistics companies at the ports. That is why we must emphatically reject the idea of restricting functioning port land through changes of use in the surrounding areas, or using port land for other purposes on a larger scale. In the spirit of mutual consideration, any existing restrictions need to be minimized.”

It is currently not possible for bayernhafen to estimate the extent of the impact the war in Ukraine will have on the economy and hence on the logistics sector and international supply chains, whether on container traffic, agricultural produce or the supply of raw material for industry.

“As a hub for the transport modes of inland waterway, rail and road, the port combines the reliable supply of goods, the modal shift and environmental protection,” says Anja Bokeloh, Head of Technology and Operations at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg. “The investment in the maintenance and development of our infrastructure ensures we are fit for the future and a strong partner for the companies operating from our port. You can rely on bayernhafen every day.”

“Ports are always in a state of change. For this reason, building and investing are as much a part of bayernhafen as the linking of the various transport modes and the handling and storage of cargo and freight,” says Alexander Zeiger, Head of Real Estate Business at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg. “We create the basis for the sustainable supply of essential goods to the people and businesses in the region.”

Optimisation of infrastructure continues

In 2021, bayernhafen once again maintained the high level of investment it had made over the previous years, spending around € 7.2 million on the redevelopment of bayernhafen Aschaffenburg’s commercial sites and port infrastructure. Its investment projects include the redevelopment of Quay 1, which has been in progress since 2020, and the modernization of the port marshalling yard, which started in February 2021. To optimise the handling of bulky and general cargo, a state-of-the-art mobile handling machine – the LH 60 M HR Port – was purchased from Liebherr. In 2022, bayernhafen Aschaffenburg is planning to launch an investment programme involving more than € 10 million.

ENTEGA expands fibre-optic network in bayernhafen Aschaffenburg

After inland waterway, rail and road, a key role in the future of inland ports and the logistics companies operating from these ports will be played by the ‘fourth infrastructure’, the ‘information superhighway’. ENTEGA Medianet GmbH is developing the communication infrastructure at bayern­hafen Aschaffenburg. The Darmstadt-based energy and infrastructure service provider is investing its own funds in to connecting around 20 companies in the port to the state-of-the-art fibre optic network. The project will involve laying several kilometres of fibre-optic cable to deliver transmission rates of up to 1,000 Mbit/s. The expansion of the fibre-optic network is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2022.

Companies invest in the port

Pollmeier Schnittholz GmbH & Co.KG is investing € 25 million in a timber cutting machine and in a new high-bay warehouse for ready-to-use timber furniture construction components. The development was made possible through the expansion of the site directly next to the existing factory. The new site is part of the former power station that site architect bayernhafen converted for use for industrial companies engaged in logistics-heavy activities. This was achieved through exchanging land with a company located on a nearby site. Pollmeier uses the infrastructure the port provides both to procure raw materials and to deliver products to its customers. The new facilities are scheduled to start operations in the summer of 2022.

Alexander Zeiger: “As a result of the strong economic environment, there is high demand for the commercial sites at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg.” When choosing which companies to attract to our port, we will continue to pay special attention to those companies involved in the loading and unloading and transportation of goods by inland waterway.

“Quay 6 / Western Limesstraße” zoning plan legally effective

In the autumn of 2021, the zoning plan for the part of bayernhafen Aschaffen­burg located in the Stockstadt market community was passed. Due to previously issued planning decisions, the existing urban land use planning represents a “rounding off” under planning law to prevent the wrong type of urban development. The purpose of the zoning plan, which has since entered into effect, is to create the legal basis for planning the further development and to safeguard the Stockstadt handling site with regard to new companies settling at the port or potential changes of use that could, for example, be the result of political decisions relating to the phasing-out of the use of fossil fuels.

River cruise sector

In 2021, 85 river cruise ships called in at the Floßhafen and the new Mainlände pier at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg.

bayernhafen Aschaffenburg organises ‘The port experience – live’ festival

In 2021, bayernhafen Aschaffenburg celebrated its 100^th jubilee. It is planned to hold a major port festival for the general public on 10 July 2022. The aim of ‘The port experience – live’ programme is to open the visitors’ eyes to the diverse world of logistics and to demonstrate the importance of inland ports to the public at large.