Rotterdam reveals plans for 7-hectare Nelson Mandela Park

Rotterdam presented its plans to construct a large city park in the Rotterdam Maashaven. The seven-hectare Nelson Mandela Park will be built at the head of the city harbor in Rotterdam Zuid.

The park's focus will be relaxation, exercise, and getting together. Two hills provide a view of the Maashaven. A city boulevard will be built on the east side, and the current berth for inland vessels will remain on the west side. In front of the Maassilo, there will be a square for small and large events.

There will be several walking, jogging, and urban sports like boot camp, skateboarding, football, and basketball. These ideas will be fleshed out with local residents.

The city will start dredging and filling in part of the Maashaven this year. The park should be ready in 2026. 

Because of the construction of thousands of homes, Rotterdam wants to ensure there is enough green in the city. There is a shortage of public green space and room to move in the neighborhoods around the Maashaven, like Katendrecht, the Afrikaanderwijk, and Charlois. Due to the population growth of Rotterdam-Zuid, the need for this continues to grow. 

The park in the Maashaven is part of a series of greening projects that Rotterdam will realize in the coming years. In addition to the Maashaven, the adjacent Rijnhaven, around Hofplein, Westblaak, Hofbogen, and Prins Alexanderplein, will also get new green spaces. The plans for Feyenoord-City also include the construction of a park on the Nieuwe Maas. 

Last year, the city estimated that the projects would cost 278 million euros. These estimates turned out to be tens of millions of euros too low. According to Rotterdam, this is because of rising export and construction costs for several projects. Inflation also affected the prices of materials and labor the past year. DENK asked the office of mayor and aldermen for an explanation and asked for a city council debate on Thursday.