ROTTERDAM, 12 December 2025 – Rotterdam’s city government, the Province of South Holland, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and business association Deltalinqs are calling for rapid action on the Wennink report, a new national roadmap on improving the Netherlands’ investment climate. They say the recommendations could help unlock long-term growth while strengthening Rotterdam’s role as a major European port and industrial hub.
The report, titled De route naar toekomstige welvaart (The route to future prosperity), was written by Peter Wennink, best known internationally as ASML’s CEO from 2013 until April 2024. He was asked by the Schoof cabinet in the summer of 2025 to produce independent advice on the investment climate and the country’s future earning capacity.
Why this matters for expats in Rotterdam
If you are an expat living in Rotterdam, this debate can feel abstract, but the themes are very local: whether major projects get built, how quickly infrastructure upgrades happen, and whether the port region remains a strong place for international work and innovation. In their joint statement, the Rotterdam and South Holland partners point to energy costs, grid congestion, nitrogen-related uncertainty, and slow decision-making as issues they want the next cabinet to tackle with urgency.
They also frame the report as a chance to push Rotterdam’s transition agenda forward, from cleaner energy systems to new forms of industry. Provincial executive Arne Weverling argues that the recommendations provide building blocks to keep the Netherlands future-ready and to develop Rotterdam’s mainport into a European hub for critical and circular materials, energy and climate solutions, including a strong industrial base. Port alderman Robert Simons adds that the focus should now be on getting to work.
What the report highlights for Rotterdam
Wennink’s report groups the Netherlands’ strategic opportunities into four domains: digitalisation and AI, security and resilience, energy and climate technology, and life sciences and biotechnology.
On the Rotterdam side, the local partners point to proposals and directions that connect to the port area, including the idea of an “AI Gigafactory” and work around energy system capacity. The report’s investment pipeline lists “AI Gigafabriek” as one of the project proposals.
For more information, consider reading the full Wennink report.
