Major expansion of this port is also taking place, with the completion of a new complex just last year, the port is expanding rapidly.
The port has also seen a burgeoning cruise industry as well as expanding commercial and residential developments on the Boston waterfront.
The port expanded to the south with permanent installations to handle more palm oil and latex, two increasingly important exports.
As the city of Rotterdam has developed from a small town into a major harbour city, the port has expanded.
But the port can expand only by moving many more containers over the same terminal space.
Up the channel a bit the port is expanding a complex to accommodate the flood of Japanese auto imports.
The port has expanded from a modest 10 operational berths in 1976 to the 58 berths of international standard in service today.
Last year, the city's port opened or expanded three container terminals, including a 171-acre operation.
In boom times, factories and the port expanded over the reeds and mud, changing living ground into something no more productive than rock.
Near the turn of the century, as Shanghai's port expanded, so did the wealth that foreigners could make.