The container volume handled by Port of Antwerp is growing year after year and now represents a large share of the total freight volume. In 2019 the number of Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) rose by 6.8% to 11.86 million. Additional space is now required in order to cope with this growth. In December last year the Flemish government announced a definite preference in the choice of alternatives for the complex project entitled "Extra Container Capacity in Antwerp."
This preferred alternative includes among other things construction of a second tidal dock in the port of Antwerp together with various "inspansion" projects, i.e. filling in existing docks to create additional space. This approval by the government will now be followed by a development phase in which the government, the Port Authority and the various stakeholders will give concrete form to the different projects.
Port of Antwerp CEO Jacques Vandermeiren declared: "We are satisfied with being able to complete 2019 with a definitive decree for the ECA project, as this is an important and necessary step in developing the economic potential and the prospects for Port of Antwerp and its contribution to the Flemish and Belgian economy."
Port alderman Annick De Ridder for her part commented: "With this announcement of the preference decree the Flemish government has given a strong signal that underlines the economic urgency of the project for the port as the engine of our economy."
Source: Port of Antwerp (Additional information about the Port of Antwerp at CruiseMapper)