The Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands is the largest in the entire Western Hemisphere. Located less than 24 hours by road or rail from every EU capitol, it has for decades been the heartbeat of the European Union, and a cornerstone of the entire world's economy. But now, that cornerstone is in danger of collapse. With 90% of products today shipped by container, Rotterdam's container terminals are nearing capacity, threatening to become a trade bottleneck that could cripple a continent already devastated by recession. To make sure this doesn't happen, the Port of Rotterdam has launched the Maasvlakte 2 Project — an ambitious $4 billion plan to triple the port's container capacity by 2013. But in a country with literally nowhere else to build, that means undertaking the biggest land reclamation project in history, turning 8 square miles of the stormy North Sea into Europe's new gateway to the world. And it's much more than just earth-moving.
