Amsterdam  - Dutch Transportation Minister Camiel Eurlings on Wednesday was set to formally launch a public company founded exclusively to fight increasing traffic jams in and around the city of Rotterdam and particularly the harbour.

The minister was due to sign a special agreement about the new company together with Rotterdam municipality alderwoman Jeannette Baljeu and Hans Smits, CEO of the Rotterdam Harbour.

The public company, an initiative of CEO Smits, is the first public company in the Netherlands set up exclusively to fight traffic jam problems in a metropolitan area.

The Rotterdam port is the biggest of Europe, and after Shanghai and Singapore the third biggest port of the world. In 2006, more than 378.2 million tons of goods were shipped through the Rotterdam harbour.

Providing employment to more than 60,0000 people, the harbour is of crucial importance to the Dutch economy and the Netherlands' global position as a distribution centre for goods.

In recent years, increasing traffic in and around the harbour has caused substantial delays in delivery time for trucks driving to and from the port. (dpa)