Antwerp completes port expansion

8 December 2003

BRUSSELS – The first stage of the port of Antwerp’s harbour expansion has been completed, over a year behind schedule.

Deurganck Dock, built on the left bank of the river Schelde, is expected to double the Belgian port’s capacity, already the second largest in terms of container freight in the world.

Legal problems plagued the development, leading to a stop to all works for close to a year when nearby residents and environmentalists managed to get the project suspended.

An emergency decree issued by the Flemish parliament in 2001 managed to override the court order, but complications over the left bank development remained.

Antwerp has been growing as a port at an estimated 10 percent per annum since 1990, and is set to grow at an even faster rate now that the first phase of its expansion has been successfully completed.

Subject: Belgian news