Moerdijk Village May Be Saved as Industrial Expansion Plans Shrink

Moerdijk Industrial Expansion Shrinks

The Dutch cabinet has reduced the spatial requirements for the Moerdijk port and industrial area expansion, making it feasible for the village of Moerdijk to survive, nrc.nl reported on Tuesday.

State Secretary Jo-Annes de Bat of Climate and Green Growth sent a letter to the House of Representatives detailing the policy shift. The government now calculates that the industrial expansion requires only 200 hectares of land, down from an earlier projection of 450 hectares.

Policy Shifts Reduce Land Demand

The reduction stems from modified state policies regarding large-scale circular business developments. The central government abandoned plans to reserve extra space for circular industries around Moerdijk, opting instead to direct those initiatives to other designated areas in the Netherlands, according to nrc.nl.

State Secretary de Bat noted that officials dropped plans for a major expansion of the Moerdijk port. Policy changes also decreased total land demand because energy storage batteries are becoming more efficient and ambitions for hydrogen deployment have been scaled back.

Timeline of Industrial Plans and Uncertainty

• November 11, 2025: The municipal administration announced that the village of 1,150 residents would likely have to make way for the neighboring industrial zone’s Powerport project, nrc.nl reported.
• December 2025: Local authorities delayed a definitive decision that was originally expected during a meeting at the Zevenbergen town hall.
• June 4, 2026: Government bodies revealed a third option featuring a scaled-down version of the Powerport expansion, which could allow the village to remain intact.

Residents Organize Amid Ongoing Uncertainty About Village Survival

The prolonged uncertainty created substantial unrest among residents, who organized themselves into groups such as the Dorpstafel and the Bewonerscollectief. John van Hal, a local resident, described the ministry’s announcement as wonderful news while noting that long-term certainty remains elusive.

You never get certainty in the long run, Van Hal told nrc.nl by telephone.

A definitive decision regarding the village’s survival has not yet been made. The national government, the province of North Brabant, and the municipality of Moerdijk must still determine whether local living conditions can be guaranteed alongside a viable future for the industrial zone.