The Swiss Rhine ports provide a gateway to the sea. Over 10 percent of all Swiss imports, which arrive here along the Rhine via the seaports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam, are handled in Basel, Birsfelden and Muttenz. Large grain silos, storage areas for petrol and other mineral oil products and high container stacks can all be found here. Around 100 port companies process a large proportion of Swiss international trade.
4 trimodal container terminals | |
Silos for 385,000 m3 of grain | |
80,000 m3 of other bulk cargo storage areas | |
Storage tanks for 1,250,000 m3 of liquids | |
60 cranes with a lifting power of 5 to 300 t | |
12-20 Landing stages for cabin ships |
The Swiss Rhine ports consist of three port areas in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt. Basel-Kleinhüningen, Birsfelden and Auhafen Muttenz have access to a total area of around 1,500,000 km² with numerous reloading points for dry-cargo, containers and tankers.
Two-thirds of the cargoes handled in the Swiss Rhine port are received or dispatched by rail. Hafenbahn Schweiz AG is a subsidiary of the Swiss Rhine ports and operates two port railways with control centres and over 100km of track.
The port facilities of the Swiss Rhine ports are easily accessible for all types of goods traffic. They are located directly on the Rotterdam-Basel-Genoa rail link with feeder lines connecting to the national road network. The EuroAirport is also situated in the vicinity.
All 3 sections of the Swiss Rhine ports are extremely well connected to the national and international motorway network. The Basel-Kleinhüningen port has its own motorway link. Further information on the areas and their accessibility can be obtained here.
The Swiss Rhine ports have established the area as a "landlord". The rents for the existing terminals and storage areas, etc. are settled by the resident harbour companies.
Storage
All types of cargos are stored on the port site. The following capacities are available:
• Silos for 385,000 m3 of grain
• 80,000 m3 for other bulk cargo
• Storage tanks for 1,250,000 m3 of liquids
• 250,000 m² of covered storage areas
• 200,000 m² of open storage areas (container terminals)
The storage areas are rented out by the port companies.
Basel is a cultural city with a large number of museums and cultural institutions. As a trade fair centre (e.g. BaselWorld and Art.Basel) Basel also welcomes a considerable number of business people. As a departure point for river cruises, Basel offers the most modern passenger ship terminal. With its 12-20 landing stages, the port is able to accommodate 1,200 cabin ships per year with over 120,000 visitors.
Swiss Ports
Hochbergerstrasse 160
CH-4019 Basel
Tel.: +41 61 639 95 95
E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Internet: www.port-of-switzerland.ch
Kleinhüningen container terminal
Unloading bulk cargo
Basel Kleinhüningen
Birsfelden
Muttenz
Cruise ship landing stages